Hansard November 25, 2013

Mr. Silver:  In February of this year, the Auditor General of Canada had some very strong criticisms for the Yukon Party and its mismanagement of capital projects. He was referring, of course, to the overbudget and behind-schedule hospitals in Watson Lake and in Dawson City. Fast-forwarding to today the Hospital Corporation is once again embarking on a major capital project — the expansion of the Whitehorse Hospital.

The corporation recently said that the new project will cost $60 million to $65 million to complete. It was only three short years ago that Yukoners were assured that the project would cost $50 million. Why has the cost of the project gone up $10 million to $15 million before a shovel has hit the ground?

Hansard November 21, 2013

Mr. Silver:   I have a question for the Premier. After many years of dragging its heels and attempting to sell our publicly owned energy corporation to the private sector, the Yukon Party finally announced this summer that it was planning to expand our hydro generation. The Premier told local media in July that he wants to build a new hydro dam.

Hansard November 20, 2013

Mr. Silver:   I have more questions regarding this government’s answer to the Ross River Court decision. This government is responding to one aspect of the ruling by making changes to our mining legislation. The second part of the ruling is being met through government-to-government discussions with the Ross River Dena Council and Yukon government, as far as identifying lands in the Ross River area that will no longer be available for staking.

The minister said that he was working toward a December 27 deadline in those discussions with Ross River. He mentioned earlier today that he has been in discussion with the chief from RRDC. When did the discussions that the minister is referring to between Ross River and government begin? Could the minister tell us when that last meeting was?

Hansard November 19, 2013

Mr. Silver:  I am going to return to questions I asked yesterday about this government’s approach to addressing the Ross River court decision. First off, the minister said that he was surprised to hear that I’m opposing the amendments that have been drafted and urged me to go to a briefing to make up my mind.

Geoscience 2013

Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Liberal caucus to pay tribute to the 41st annual Geoscience Forum and trade show.

Mining has come a long way from the Klondike Gold Rush. Mining has been the lifeblood of Yukon for over 100 years and it’s still with us today. Local companies have spearheaded a recent exploration boom, which is considered to be the largest geochemistry experiment in North American history, mostly due to local crews, such as the Ground Truth crew in Klondike. After exploration, these prospectors have reached out to junior companies to use their expertise on the ground in different capacities — new technologies, like GPS and mapping software, for example. Using these new, modern techniques, mining and exploration have continued to develop and adapt.