Housing, environment top Yukon election issues

Residents of the Yukon will go to the polls Tuesday, and thereigning Yukon Party is hoping for a third straight majority.

Thanks to the mining industry, the economy is strong and jobs are plentiful. But some issues, such as the environment and housing, have dogged the campaign.

A proposal to save 68,000 sq. km. of land in the northern part of the territory has emerged as a major election issue.

Candidates have voiced their opinions on the Peel River watershed throughout the campaign.

An independent commission recommended 80 per cent of the area be withdrawn from mineral exploration.

The pro-mining Yukon Party refuses to put its position on the table, saying there's one more round of consultation scheduled and it doesn't want to comment before that.

"That is why I want to stop this politics of division, cool off this rhetoric and bring everybody back to the table," he said during a recent leaders' forum.

Liberal leader Arthur Mitchell responded by saying most Yukoners agree the Peel needs protecting.

"The rhetoric I keep hearing, Mr. Pasloski, is your rhetoric when you keep telling Yukoners what are they going to give up?," Mitchell said.

The NDP, the Green Party and the Yukon First Nations Party also favour protection.

They say its not economical to develop mineral deposits in the Peel, some of which were first identified in the early 1960s.

The parties say pristine wilderness will be a commodity in the future.

Housing has also emerged as an election issue. The average house price in Whitehorse hit a record high between April and June, sitting at $427,000.

New home construction has not kept up with demand and a tent city emerged in June on the lawn of the Yukon legislature.

The people camped on the lawn in Whitehorse are protesting the lack of affordable housing and the extent of the citys homelessness.

All the while, temperatures are dropping.

"Ive admitted this to myself since I got here," says Brad, who lives in one of the tents. "Youve got two options: go south or get housing. Guess Ill be going sooner than later."