Mr. John Streicker - Minister of Tourism and Culture - has shown his true colours. His ego and need to be right override the concerns and interests of Yukoners, taxpayers and cruise-ship visitors to the Carcross area who support local businesses. He clearly has forgotten he is a public servant.
The Minister’s (and his representatives') response to the overwhelming negative feedback they received via letters, social media posts and a petition was "People don't like change." This pat response is insulting considering most comments and criticisms were constructive. Their response to the overwhelming negative face-to-face criticisms they received during the celebration of the new Yukon sign in Carcross was to do an about-face and run. And in one instance, when asked why "Larger than Life" was not printed on the new sign, the response received was that they did not want to put English on the sign.
Numerous requests have been made to the Minister to reinstall one of the old signs at the B.C.-Yukon border rather than at the Watson Lake sign post or the Transportation Museum in Whitehorse. The Yukon sign at this location receives the highest numbers of annual visitors: over 100,000. This is a reasonable request that would address all the issues brought to his attention but to date, the Minister has not responded.
The questions we have for the Minister are:
1. Why did he approve artwork of a deformed sheep (horn tips going in opposite directions, black eye, misaligned face, looks like it is missing one of its’ front legs) for the Yukon sign? This is an embarrassment for Yukoners and insulting to the other artists (artists were paid the same amount).
2. How can he justify stating to a tour operator that the artwork is not going to be changed even though he is fully aware of the issues regarding it?
3. Why should local business owners, Skagway tour operators and drivers suffer the embarrassment of your mistake and thus the disappointment of visitors for another four years?
4. Please explain how you expect anyone to be proud of this sign/artwork?
5. When can we expect to see the old sign reinstalled at the B.C.-Yukon Border? A sign we are proud of and visitors loved.
Respectfully,
Jacqueline St. Jacques
Carcross
on behalf of:
Skagway Tour Operators/Drivers
100,000 Cruise Ship Visitors
