Premier Darrell Pasloski says he remains confident in his government’s performance over the last year and throughout his five-year mandate as his first term in office draws to a close.

During an interview Thursday afternoon, he acknowledged the territory’s gross domestic product has fallen over three successive years.

So too have commodity prices, which has tripped up the territory’s mining sector, a primary contributor to the Yukon’s economy, he said.

The premier was quick to point out all other sectors have seen growth in the last year.

The Yukon Party continues to invest in what he described as the tremendous potential in the IT sector. Tourism continues to flourish with the aid of an aggressive marketing strategy his government continues to support, he added.

Education and training to bolster the quality of a local workforce remains a priority.

There have been advancements in several fronts in the health care field, not the least of which is the new Sarah Steele Building that will provide expanded services in the area of combating addictions when it opens later this year.

Pasloski spoke of his government’s continued investment in infrastructure and its focus on working with industry and First Nation partners to strengthen the territory’s regulatory regime.

Over the last five years, 20 to 25 per cent of the territorial budget has been directed toward capital spending, he told the Star.

“What we have been able to do above everything else is we’ve been able to manage our economy in good times and bad times,” he said.

“While we have endured the contraction, we have focused on what we can do.

“... We have seen growth in all sectors with the exception of mining.”

The premier said his government has worked and continues to work on the list of actions needed to heal past wrongs suffered by First Nations, actions set out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett was impressed during her visit here last month with the progress the Yukon is making on calls to action, and with the plan going forward, he said.

Pasloski said the Mental Health Strategy released this month has the support and endorsement of First Nations and those who work in the field.

An additional $1 million is included in the 2016-17 territorial fiscal budget to support the strategy, he pointed out.

“Ultimately, through these steps, we should see the development of capacity in the Yukon communities, where there are a lot of challenges.”

The premier said the same drive that pushed him into health care as a pharmacist to help people has stayed with him.

The Yukon Party government has done everything but stand still in the last five years, he said.

Pasloski said the government has fulfilled or is currently working on fulfilling the commitments set out in its 2011 election platform, without raising taxes.

The territory’s financial situation, he insisted, continues to be the envy of the country.

“We have demonstrated a vision for where the Yukon needs to go,” Pasloski said. “We have not seen that from the two opposition parties.

“It is important for Yukoners to know when the Yukon Party says it is going to do something, they get it done.”

While the Liberals and NDP would turn their backs on the resource industry under the guise of diversifying the economy, Pasloski said, the Yukon Party knows this is a time when it’s most important to stand behind the industry.

This month’s announcement by Goldcorp Inc. that it intends to purchase the Kaminak Gold Corp. and its Coffee gold project south of Dawson City underscores the potential and importance of the resource sector, he said.

While the opposition parties are bent on imposing some sort of carbon tax on fossil fuels, Pasloski said, the Yukon Party remains committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions without putting an additional financial burden on Yukoners.

“The North is already an expensive place to live,” he said.

As Thursday’s interview winds down, the premier notes that on the final day of this sitting of the legislature, the day when the territorial budget is voted on by MLAs, Liberal Leader Sandy Silver is away – attending the federal Liberal party convention in Winnipeg (see brief on p. 3).

Silver’s absence does not display much commitment to his constituents in the Klondike, Pasloski said.