Recent news of Yukon government Minister John Streicker’s home allegedly being struck by vandalism has prompted a volunteer in Tagish to express his concern that ongoing defacement and threats are taking a toll on residents’ will to participate in the Southern Lakes community.
Martin Allen is currently a director on the Tagish community association board.
He said his property in Tagish had been hit by targeted tampering with gear, spray painting and threats.
He submitted a letter to the News' editor on May 22.
“I read with dismay the article on the vandalism that occurred at Minister Streicker’s private residence earlier in May and would be remiss if I did not note the disturbing similarities between what happened at Minister Streicker’s residence and several other properties in the Tagish area, including my own,” Allen wrote.
“Over one year ago, my garage was spray painted with similar, incoherent ramblings, pieces of my equipment vandalized, and a threatening letter left taped to my garage.”
Allen said he has lived in Tagish since 2006. He hadn't been bothered up until last year.
During a May 22 interview by phone, Allen said that in February 2023 he was a victim of alleged tampering with his equipment, vandalism and threats in the community southeast of Whitehorse.
“We just completely felt violated,” he said.
His home and shop in Tagish were painted with messages and a note was left behind on a rolled-up piece of paper by the address.
Allen suggested the marks outside his home last year resembled the ones left behind at Streicker’s home in the Marsh Lake area earlier this May.
Streicker’s home was marked with COVID-19-related words like “masks”, “vax” and “CEMA”, an acronym for the law behind emergency measures the territorial government struck during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as profanity and the minister and his wife’s names spray painted on their property.
The leaders of all three major territorial parties denounced the actions at Streicker’s house.
Premier Ranj Pillai called it “political violence.”
RCMP confirmed they are investigating the incident at Streicker’s property but have declined to elaborate due to the ongoing investigation.
Streicker previously told the News that he worried that other Yukoners might fear running for politics after what happened to him and his family.
Allen shares those concerns. He believes he’s seeing the impact play out in real time.
“Like Minister Streicker’s concern about such behaviour impacting people’s decision to run for politics in the future, I can say with certainty that the actions out in Tagish have adversely impacted the number of people willing to volunteer for the board out here,” reads Allen’s letter to the editor.
“Acts such as this type of vandalism are inexcusable and only demonstrate the individual’s ignorance and cowardice.”
Allen previously served as president of the community board.
Allen said he stepped up after the former president stepped down during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The resignation came amid new restrictions imposed by the Yukon government around mask and vaccination mandates and limits on the number of people in spaces, for example, around the board table at meetings.
Allen said he believes that he was targeted due to his role on the board and the temporary measures the board put in place to bring it in line with the government-imposed rules intended to limit the risk of COVID-19.
Allen reported what happened to him to RCMP. He said police investigated the incident.
Allen said he is aware of two other similar incidents allegedly involving community board or staff members last year.
Police refused to confirm an investigation related to Allen's place, citing the Privacy Act.
While Allen provided photos of the paint to the News, he said a physical copy of the note was taken away by RCMP. Police declined to provide the note or the contents of it to the News for privacy reasons.
"Generally, police investigations certainly do look into similar crimes to determine if they are connected in any way," RCMP said by email. "It is important that folks report crimes to the police so that if there are connections to be made the police do have the information available."
Allen expressed concern that community members aren’t stepping up due to ongoing incidents allegedly targeting the board and staff members — and, more recently, a Yukon government minister.
“We just had our [annual general] meeting,” he said. “We didn’t get any new members on the board.”
Allen noted the temporary pandemic restrictions are “long gone.”
“Why is somebody still all upset about that? Why you feeling that way?” he wonders.
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com
