The Mayor’s Blog

Kudos are certainly in order to Minister Elaine Taylor for the recent 40% increase to funding for the arts in the Yukon. Of course I am biased since I’m arts orientated! It should be remembered the return on that investment is significant, not only for the nurturing and support for our creative people and organizations; also the economic spin-offs are a factor which sometimes get overlooked. Case in point - the Dawson City Music Festival generates a huge economic boon on that weekend for local business. The economic impact study that was carried out in 1995 showed that the festival brought in $400,000. It must be doubled by now.

Thanks to Culture and Tourism Minister Taylor for recognizing the benefits of supporting our cultural industries.

Why are government announcements - or pronouncements - often given more weight than the actual content of the announcement? Yesterday’s carefully choreographed revelation that a new health care facility will be built in Dawson appears to have been more about the sizzle than the steak. This is an important bit of infrastructure that has been promised on again and off again for many years, yet everyone was notified only the day before Mr. Nordick’s and Minister Cathers’ press conference at the Nursing Station on Friday. Looking at it from a political point of view I can see that it’s important to be seen as fulfilling a mandate with these staged proclamations. In my opinion this is an old fashioned style of governance held over from the fifties and a waste of energy. Why not just start the work without the posturing and fanfare? More importantly, begin consulting with Dawson stakeholders to develop a sustainable solution that will leave an enduring legacy for future generations.

Frankly this kind of thing always raises questions in my mind regarding the value of party politics and top-down governance - a topic for future discussion. Yukoners and our government should be reminded that the money which is filtered and dispensed by YTG is money that belongs to all of us. It is not there to use as a political opportunity or profile building.

A press release from the Territorial Government went out yesterday regarding a new health care proposal for Dawson to be announced by MLA Steve Nordick and Brad Cathers at the Dawson Nursing Station today (Friday, June 27) at 12:30.

It better be good… especially in context of the lack of clarity over the last year regarding a new ambulance bay among other issues, despite every effort on Dawson’s part to gain clarity from the relevant departments.

Let us hope that today’s announcement will be prefaced by a desire on YTG’s part to consult with Town council and our citizens before any plans are enacted.

I’m attending the FCM AGM held in Quebec City this year. Pictured above is the panel discussion regarding the benefits of local infrastructure to Canada’s economy and government balance sheets. Of course the main discussion focused on the grievous infrastructure deficit facing municipalities across the country. Our federal government has a record breaking surplus but very little seems to trickle down to address crumbling infrastructure.

I was happy to finally meet the famous Mayor Hazel McCallion from Mississauga, Ontario, she’s quite the firecracker, not afraid to shoot from the hip. She is also being honoured at the conference this weekend.

This ‘get together’ is pretty big, close to 2,200 delegates, a bit unwieldy in my opinion. However, the networking aspect is something I’ve engaged in at the grassroots level, which is certainly the real value here.

The most recent hearing and update regarding the court order directing Dawson to build secondary sewage treatment was held today via teleconference. The courtroom in Dawson was connected to Judge Lilles in Vancouver and the courtroom in Whitehorse along with counsel on both sides. Looking at the gallery I was dismayed to see hardly any representation from those who initiated the hoopla and referendum that ultimately stopped work on the lagoon project.

Dawson is named in the court order, yet there appear to be many chefs stirring the same broth. This makes it difficult to arrive at a sustainable solution to the challenge before us. But it will be done, as I said in court today Dawson is committed to finding a way to remedy the problem.

Judge lilles expressed concern that another referendum could scuttle a new project in the future prompting direction from his honour to develop more fully the mechanical plant (SBR) option. Of course, citizens may raise objection to that as well. Which makes one wonder whether it’s such a good idea to allow referendums to influence matters before the court.

The City of Dawson requested that the next court update be held in Dawson. This session will likely deal with the ongoing fallout from the referendum and what steps if any will be taken by the City to remedy our secondary wastewater treatment as ordered by the court.

The Judge and counsel for both sides will attend via teleconference in the Territorial Courtroom. This is a valuable opportunity for everyone who voted in the referendum to continue to express their involvement and concern for this issue by being present at this hearing on Tuesday May 6 at 1:00 pm.

In the great hall - Association of Yukon Communities AGM

Last weekend I attended the 2008 AGM for the Association of Yukon Communities in Haines Junction, accompanied by Paul Moore our Chief Administrative Officer. This year’s theme focused on intergovernmental relationships, a topic that will always remain prominent at all levels of government.

Guest speakers included Minister of Community Services Glenn Hart, Member of Parliament Larry Bagnell, Chief of the Teslin Tlingit Council Eric Morris, Leader of the Official Opposition Arthur Mitchell and Steve Cardiff speaking on behalf of the NDP. Gord Steeves the president of the Canadian Federation of Municipalities also spoke.

The keynote speaker was Paul Born from Ontario who put everyone through their paces in order to get a grip on the erosion of community in Canada, although he must have sensed that many of the negative societal developments happening back east have yet to evolve in the Yukon.

Deryck Hockley LAC Chair from the Ibex Valley with Bev Buckway, AYC President and Mayor of Whitehorse.

Guess the real purpose of these big get-togethers, beyond the ‘taking care of business’ end of things is to become closer with one another as representatives of communities in the Yukon. I know it sounds mushy but I really do think of us as a family working towards common objectives lending each other support when needed. We represent much of the population in the Territory and consequently have the ability to express a common voice and give direction to the Territorial Government. To their credit YTG has responded to many of our resolutions in the past, including substantial increases to our Consolidated Grants and the smoke free places act that has just passed.

Nancy Moore - Mayor of Watson Lake, with Paul Moore - Dawson CAO and Cory Bellmore - CAO for the Village of Carmacks.

And don’t let me forget Mayor Fred Shields from Haines Alaska. He made the trek to our AGM in Dawson last year and again this year to Haines Junction. It’s always a pleasure to see him and hang out. I only wish we had a greater connection with other Alaskan municipalities.

Gordon Van Tighem the Mayor of Yellowknife and President of the Northwest Territories Association of Communities was also present.

And of course the YTG government was well represented including outgoing Deputy Minister of Community Affairs Marc Tremblay who received a bit of ‘roast’ at our banquet, somehow his coveted Montreal Canadiens necktie got taken away and auctioned for a princely sum. Our new ADM for Community Affairs Ron McMillan also attended along with Director Cynthia Tucker.

Ultimately, it was a great weekend and another opportunity to express solidarity as an association.

Right across the street from the convention centre is this museum that apparently is never open.

For some time it has been Dawson Council’s desire to hold a town hall meeting. Last night we had a great turnout at the Y.O.O.P. hall with lots of discussion and feedback from 30 or so citizens who attended. Given the other activities in town along with NHL playoff season our meeting was a success.

Council was able to present the town’s new budget and underscore our healthy financial position. We also expect straight ‘A’s from our auditors in the forthcoming management letter.

Topics discussed centered around waste water treatment and the recreation complex. Both issues have been on the table for a long time and council heard most say that we need to work with what we have rather than push for what appears to be expensive options in terms of the rec facility.

Another opinion suggested abandonment of the existing building and start construction on a new facility to be built in stages over a number of years.

In regard to the hockey rink, save one person, there was general acceptance that artificial ice wasn’t going to be a reality in the near future.

There was agreement that the existing facility should be fixed up and brought up to speed with an eye to opening the upstairs to be used as a youth centre. Minister Hart’s promised contribution of 4 million over the next few years for that along with other deficiencies was acknowledged.
Others expressed the idea that our community should receive our fair share of money that comes to the Territory from Canada and be allowed to exercise more self-determination on how to spend it.

Questions were asked regarding summer housing for transient workers which lead to discussion about the housing study that was completed last year. This is an issue that council will have to address in one form or another.

I just read the release from Minister Taylor regarding the American Bus Association list of the top 100 events in North America. The Dawson City Music Festival is in that list! Here’s the link.

Who would have thunk it, way back in 1979 when we were going around town asking for support. One of Dawson’s great attributes is a willingness to reserve judgment and give everything a try, even if it’s a bunch of young kids wanting to start a summer music festival. Now it’s one of Dawson’s biggest economic drivers, although that is really a spin-off effect of wanting to hear some great music in an outdoor setting.

All the best to DCMF producer Tim Jones and all the volunteers for the big three -oh coming up this summer. And keep the accolades coming.

It is a cliché to say that one of the attractions of life in a small community like Dawson is the familiarity of pretty well knowing everyone around you, either by name or appearance. Just the same, one can take comfort in knowing that if mugged on our streets at night you will likely know who the assailant was. Of course, that’s a ridiculous proposition and not likely to happen but does bring into question the new Federal Post Office requirement that patrons show identification when picking up mail, even if you live in Timbuktu.

Our friends at the local post office outlet have been serving us over the counter for decades. Some of them know every box number associated with every name and face in town. If a drifter came in off the street asking for my mail, do you think they would hand it over, identification or not?

Now Dawson citizens have to accept the absurdity of showing their driver’s license to a postal employee who has known you on a first name basis for the last 25 years. This is a prime example of another Crown Corporation that rewards its executive classes with cash incentives and expensive vacations for making stupid policy decisions while foisting silly annoyances on to the public that pays their salaries.