Whitehorse: Recent comments by Premier Pasloski demonstrate he is out of touch when it comes to the development of the Eagle mine near Mayo, says Klondike MLA Sandy Silver.  In a recent newspaper article the Premier said the mine was considering generating its own power supply and using a mixture of diesel and natural gas.  In the same article the President of Victoria Gold contradicted the Premier and said the project would receive its power by hooking onto the Yukon’s energy gird and wasn’t even permitted to have its own power system.

“The Premier and this government have a habit of lecturing members of the Legislature about doing basic research – perhaps he should take his own advice,” Silver said.  “It’s been a matter of public record for some time that Victoria Gold will be hooking up to the grid.  They even have a letter of intent in place with the Yukon Energy Corporation to facilitate that process. The Premier’s statements are obviously incorrect and he should correct the public record to clear up the confusion he has created.”

The company’s agreement with Yukon Energy does raise a number of questions said Silver.  He has been asking the government for months to allow witnesses from Yukon Energy/Yukon Development Corporation to appear in the legislature this spring to answer questions such as this one.  To date the government has ignored the request.  The legislature will be debating that very question later today.

“This is going to be a very large industrial customer.  We know our power grid is already stretched to the limit,” he noted. “Does the Energy Corporation have sufficient capacity to service this mine and what will the source of this power be?”

Given statements from the Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources that he is looking forward to development on the Eagle mine site in 2013 Silver also questioned the government’s state of readiness for a project of this size.

“This is a very large project and it involves a great deal of preparation from both the company and the government.  At this point, Victoria Gold is focused on securing its financing and we’re happy see this project moving forward.  We know the Energy Corporation is hard at work on the power supply question,” he said.

“Is the government still anticipating development this summer and what preparations is it making to be ready for it?”

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For additional information contact: 

Jason Cunning 667-8942