The Conservative Party of Canada’s leader, Andrew Scheer, visited Whitehorse on Wednesday – his first time seeing the territory.

After flying north from Vancouver, Scheer met with various residents and members of the local business community at a Yukon Chamber of Commerce luncheon. He also spoke with the media afterward at the site of the SS Klondike.

The chamber luncheon was a non-partisan event. The organization is open to having the leaders of the other parties visit for similar events.

Scheer told reporters this trip marked that he has now officially been to all 10 provinces and three territories.

“I’m thrilled to be here,” Scheer said.

On reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians, he said he is proud to be a member of the party that made the formal apology for the residential school system and offered compensation to survivors and families. (Former prime minister Stephen Harper made the apology in the House of Commons in the summer of 2008.)

The party is in favour of measures to preserve Indigenous languages, Scheer said. It’s also committed to getting consultations right up front so when big mining or pipeline projects come up, Indigenous communities can benefit.

He said this part of why he was here. Another part was to listen to what people have to say.

He highlighted that the current Liberal government has failed on its management of Indigenous relations. He pointed out there was a lack of consultation over Bill C-69, some of the mining legislation and infrastructure funding.

The federal carbon tax was imposed when the Liberals knew it would hurt Yukoners, Scheer said. It took effect here on July 1.

“This government has had an ‘Ottawa knows best’ approach from the get go,” Scheer said.

On the Indigenous file, he said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may be good at gestures, but can’t get results.

He said there were 30 agreements signed with Indigenous communities for the Northern Gateway pipeline. This was an Enbridge project connecting Bruderheim, Alta. to Kitimat, B.C. with a twin line.

That project was cancelled with no consultations with communities nor provincial and territorial representatives, Scheer said.

He said he is committed to implemented the party’s Arctic Framework Strategy, with details pending. There will be announcements during the campaign for October’s election, he vowed.

He believes there should be an opportunity for growth in the North. He said the framework will facilitate economic development, growth and will respect local decisions.

“It will ensure that the people of the North have the same type of opportunities for prosperity as people everywhere else in Canada,” he said.

Moving to Indigenous women and girls, he said the government needs to look at the resources given to police forces.

He explained that the feeling from First Nation leaders is that there has not been enough attention to cases. This can speak to a lack of resources.

“We need to ensure that when a woman or a young girl has gone missing that there is a response that is there,” Scheer said.

On human trafficking, he said the government needs to hold these people accountable. Services need to be available for the women who escape that life.

On the carbon tax, he said the Liberals have employed a one-size-fits-all approach that does not take into account secondary factors.

He explained that a family with a few children to drive around to attend activities as well as work, will end up paying more for heating and fuel than they will get back under the rebate plan.

Any goods that need to be transported will end up costing more, Scheer pointed out.

On the exemption for aviation fuel, he said it is not uniform. He explained this causes disparity on where the planes are fuelling up, which creates extra costs.

“One thing that’s clear: it doesn’t work,” he said.

Parliament’s budgetary officer and Environment Canada agree that the carbon tax will not ensure that Canada reaches its emission goals. Consequently, Scheer does not see the logic in continuing with such a program.

“At the end of the day, people would rather not pay the tax,” Scheer told reporters.

When people know they are paying more for fuel, heating and goods, he added, it will hurt.

The opposition leader said he spoke with an entrepreneur who was hit by the tax. This individual has a mining operation that did not receive an exemption.

“So when those types of companies are looking around the world at where to invest, where to put half billion dollars worth of investment to create jobs and opportunities, why would they do it in a jurisdiction that has a carbon tax when there are other countries in the world that are competing to get those types of investments there?” Scheer asked.

He said his climate plan would eliminate those barriers to growth while incentivizing and investing in technology that will reduce emissions.

Scheer also said his party will always work with the LGBT community. He added he was proud to deliver a response in the house, apologizing to LGBT individuals who had lost their jobs due to their lifestyle.

He wants to make sure LGBT rights are protected. He said he is against anything that infringes on the rights of this community.

On relations with China, Scheer explained, in French, that the current government’s response has been to do nothing regarding the custody of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor and suspended imports of Canadian canola, beef and pork.

He said he would work to put trade tariffs on Chinese goods.

“If the Canadian government does nothing, the Chinese government will continue to escalate the situation,” Scheer said, in French.

He said he would have appealed to the World Trade Organization, increased inspections on Chinese goods and pull funding from the Asian Infrastructure Bank.

The inspections would be to crack down on fentanyl and other counterfeit materials, he pointed out.

He added he would have pressured the Chinese government on the detention of Spavor and Kovrig.

He explained that Trudeau is now relying on U.S. President Donald Trump and charity to do what he cannot.

“Trudeau is showing tremendous weakness by doing nothing,” Scheer said.

If he was prime minister, he added, he would show China that if Canada is bullied, the country will stand up for itself.

On pipelines, he believes that Canada should be supplying more energy to the world.

He said resources are pulled out of the ground under the highest environmental standards. The Alberta oil sands have reduced their emission, he added.

“We believe the world needs more Canadian energy,” he said. “Canada needs more Canadian energy.”

He is frustrated that some jurisdictions import oil in from places that don’t have the same standards.

The Conservatives aim to create the conditions for the private sector to build pipelines.

As long as there is a business case, he added, companies should be permitted to build pipelines while the government works on green energy at the same time.

He said he does not like that the Liberals are already creating a negative election campaign by demonizing those who disagree with them.

Scheer said he does not feel his party is doing that. He explained that all the Conservatives are doing is pointing out Trudeau’s record of broken promises – which is not a personal attack.

He and Yukon Conservative candidate Jonas Smith planned to meet with First Nations leaders and an affordable housing project after the chamber luncheon, which Yukon MP Larry Bagnell attended.