Premier Ranj Pillai has alluded to ties between the Official Opposition and a Whitehorse business banned from taking part in the Yukon nominee program for a year.
The ban against the legal name Yukon Food Concepts Inc. involves businesses under the names Destination Family Hotel and Antoinette’s Restaurant, according to the list of bans on the Yukon government website. The violation is listed as Type C, which involves “serious violations” like not paying enough, not providing enough work or getting paid to accept a nominee.
The online ban list contained no other businesses at the time of publication.
Pillai mentioned that a business has been banned from the Yukon nominee program during a scrum with reporters on April 30. That was after questions were raised by the Yukon Party during the question period that afternoon about an immigration fraud scheme dating back several years that involved Joyce Chang, a donor to the Yukon Liberal Party after charges were laid against her.
Although Pillai didn’t name the business, he insinuated a link between the now-banned business and the Yukon Party.
"You'll see that the Yukon Party have partnered with that organization or those individuals directly over the last two years," he said.
For example, the Yukon Party appears to have hosted a Christmas open house at Antoinette’s Restaurant in November 2023, according to an invite to the event shared by the Yukon Party on social media.
Following a media report that incorrectly mentioned the Yukon Party as hosts of a Conservative Party of Canada event held at Antoinette’s Restaurant as part of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's visit to Whitehorse in September 2023, the Yukon Party press secretary tried to clarify the territorial party’s connection to the federal Conservatives in an email to reporters.
“While there are strong relationships between the parties, they are separate entities and separate memberships. Yukon Party MLAs chose to participate as they saw fit,” reads the email.
A Sept. 17, 2023, video posted by Antoinette’s Restaurant to Facebook shows Yukon Party MLA for Porter Creek Centre Yvonne Clarke at Poilievre's event.
“Pierre discussed our #commonsense skill Blue seal recognition plan, and we discussed numerous pressing issues, including #affordability & #crime. They're urging us to #bringithome!” reads the Facebook post that accompanies the video.
The post exclaims the restaurant’s honour in hosting Poilievre, two other Conservative MPs and Clarke.
The one-year ban started Jan. 26.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com