The vote is in
Looks like the yes side has won the referendum preventing construction of the lagoon at the proposed location.
Consequently, as of now the City has no memorandum of agreement with the Territorial Government for the 17 million dollar project and we have increased our exposure to new charges from Environment Canada that could result in fines in the hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more.
Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in thinks that a new project will now advance to their preferred site. I wish them luck.
Congratulations to Rick Riemer who has won the by-election for councilor. And congratulations to Steve Johnson who also ran.
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I wish to congratulate Rick as well. Also, I extend my best wishes to council in these, shall we call, “trying times”.
Hey John, this vote should not come as a huge surprise. I have no doubt, mayor, council and Yukon Government have at least spent some time to investigate alternative courses of action.
I always believed as elected representative one should elect to represent the will of the people. Now is the time.
We know what the risks are, you have made that more than clear leading up to the election.
Your post here has me a little worried. Please don’t get lost in looking back. Now we need our mayor to look forward, to bring together all levels of government and stakeholders, to help bring about a strategy that leads to a solution. Of course that is a big task. Of course there are a few scary aspects to this (on the other hand better than three-quarter majority will even help with the court).
More than anything, leadership is required now. And you know what John? I have no doubts you can and will provide it.
Thanks for your comments Jorn,
Of course the results come as no surprise. The NIMBY factor along with a mistrust of YTG’s motives will almost always win the day if given the chance.
You talk about awareness of the risks. Was it made clear to every individual as to what the consequences might be if the project is stopped – while the petition for a referendum was being passed around? Somehow I doubt it.
A majority of voters in the referendum have voted in support of a bylaw written by the petitioner that will prohibit construction of a sewage lagoon at a specified location. According to the Municipal Act, Town council must adopt this bylaw. We have every intention of doing so, no one is suggesting otherwise.
All of this doesn’t erase Dawson’s guilty plea for violating the Fisheries Act, it doesn’t erase the long standing court order in which we are named and it won’t make the prosecution go away.
A good leader obeys the laws of the land, this reflects well on all citizens. I have every intention of respecting the court and working with those who help us rather than those who hinder us.
I dunno, Jorn. Less that 50% of the possible voters in town took a stand on this either way. 75% of about 43% isn’t actually that impressive. However, as a friend of mine likes to say, ‘the world is run by those who show up’ so it’s still a legitimate democratic exercise.
I don’t think anyone was really surprised by the outcome. I had thought it would be closer
We all know the town is in a tough spot, John. I know you are put in a tough spot.
However, everyone in this town trusts you to do your best now.
So far, you have done a lot of great work for this town.
How Dan comes up with a number like 43% boggles my mind, when there isn’t even an electors list. About the same amount of people voted in the referendum as for the municpal election almost two years ago. This time, there were about a 100 fewer voters to take an interest in the byelection for city council that happened the same day, than people that voted on the referendum. I think that says something in itself.
You don’t have to get touchy about defending the victory, Jorn. I merely suggest that you do not overestimate its value in the coming negotiations.
You boggle easily. Read my entire post. You are correct as to the winning percentage among those who voted. The 43% turnout is an estimate based on a guess as to the actual number of voters in town, true, but it’s Bonnie Barber’s guess (you know I never make these things up) and she is the person best qualified to make it, having running most of the elections in town for the last 20 years. She estimates that there could be 800 actual voters.
This time, by the way, there were actually 53 fewer voters in the by-election than there were for the referendum vote. Unlike you, I was there for that count. Considering that the referendum got all the publicity and advertising and that there was no forum, debate, or local radio coverage and that MOST people in town don’t even know who the councillors are (though everyone seems to know John’s the mayor), the difference is probably understandable.
We interpreted the Municipal Act to give a ballot to each corporation that is a taxpayer in Dawson. For example, the Dawson Hardware would have been eligible for one vote in the referendum, not the by-election. This might explain the 53 vote difference.