Minister has ‘changed his story,‘ MLA says

Yukon Party cabinet minister Jim Kenyon has some explaining to do, says Liberal MLA Don Inverarity.

Yukon Party cabinet minister Jim Kenyon has some explaining to do, says Liberal MLA Don Inverarity.

Inverarity was on the offensive again during Monday’s question period in the legislature, suggesting the minister responsible for the Yukon Liquor Corp. has told the legislature one thing, and a local radio station another.

Last week, Kenyon told the house that conversations he had with cabinet minister Archie Lang and former minister Peter Jenkins regarding proposed changes to the Liquor Act occurred before the party came to power in 2002, during the preparation of its election platform.

Inverarity, however, quoted a recent radio interview with CHON-FM reporter Dan Jones in which the minister said conversations with his fellow ministers took place shortly after he took over the liquor corporation portfolio in 2004.

“That admission is on tape,“ Inverarity reported to the legislature.

“Four days later, he told a different version and said the conversations took place before he was elected.

The minister has changed his story; why has the minister changed his story?“

Premier Dennis Fentie signalled to Kenyon with a discreet wave of his hand that he would field the questions from the Liberal critic for the liquor corporation.

Fentie reminded Inverarity that he has already called upon conflicts commissioner David Jones to look into the Liberal suggestions that Lang and Jenkins were in a conflict of interest in their discussions with Kenyon, as both owned hotels at the time.

The premier has described assertions by Inverarity and Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell as wild accusations.

“We’re not in any way going to dilute or compromise what the conflicts commissioner is doing,“ Fentie replied to Inverarity’s call for an explanation from Kenyon.

“The conflicts commissioner must look into this matter in all its detail, with all the evidence provided, and table his report. That’s what the government side will allow to happen.“

A copy of the radio interview has been provided to the conflicts commissioner, as have transcripts from the legislature.

In the radio interview, Kenyon said shortly after taking over the portfolio, he spoke to his cabinet colleagues as hotel owners to get advice, just as he spoke to other hotel owners, including Craig Tuton, who manages Whitehorse’s Casa Loma.

Tuton was also the campaign manager for the Yukon Party.

Kenyon went on to describe his conversations with his colleagues as casual, to get a sense of how the hotel industry felt about the proposed changes dating back to the former Liberal government, not to establish new policy.

In such a small jurisdiction like the Yukon, Kenyon said, everybody’s in a conflict at some point.

Amendments to the Liquor Act which were tabled by Kenyon late last month include allowances for neighbourhood pubs, without the need to provide hotel rooms, as is currently the required to secure a bar licence.

The Liberals have suggested it may be more than coincidence that the new allowance for pubs comes only after Lang has sold his interest in the Watson Lake Hotel last year, and Jenkins is no longer in politics.

Fentie called for an investigation by the conflicts commissioner last week, but not before describing the Liberal allegations as nothing more than a witch hunt.

In an obviously sarcastic comment, Inverarity told the legislature Monday how Kenyon has done the public a great service by bringing to light the conversations with cabinet colleagues, and how the premier must be extremely happy with Kenyon’s performance.

In an interview last week, Jenkins said he and Kenyon talked about a lot of things when Kenyon visited Dawson as a veterinarian.

But once in cabinet, he was overly cautious about staying away from any discussions where he might have a conflict of interest, Jenkins said.

Jones has already been in contact by telephone with parties involved. It’s expected his investigation could be wrapped up in fewer than two weeks.