The governing Yukon Party has proved quick to assure Yukon residents that it will not raise taxes if it's re-elected on Oct. 11.

"When the Yukon Party government took office in 2002, we promised no tax increases and delivered,” Premier Darrell Pasloski said in a statement released this morning.

"Thanks to sound economic planning and negotiations with the Government of Canada, we've been able to raise the territory's budget from $550 million in 2002 to over $1 billion for three successive fiscal years.

"We plan on moving forward with continued economic growth to ensure that Yukoners' money stays with Yukoners.”

Pasloski similarly rode on the success of the territory's economy Friday afternoon before announcing the date of the election at the Yukon Chamber of Commerce's "Luncheon with the Premier”.

Pasloski followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, Dennis Fentie, who announced the dropping of the writ at the exact same luncheon five years ago.

The new premier told the media after his speech he made the announcement now for two reasons: one. he didn't like door-knocking in the cold, and two, it seemed like all the parties were ready and raring to go.

"Once the thoroughbred is in the gate, it's kind of hard to hold them there,” he said.

In his speech, Pasloski took the crowd back to a time when the Yukon Party was not in office.

The territory, he said, was experiencing seven years of recession, the unemployment rate was in the double-digit range and the mining industry was "nearly defunct.”

Some 3,000 people, or 10 per cent of the population, left the Yukon, he continued.

"These were grave times.”

Pasloski said now, with the Yukon Party in government for the past nine years, things have changed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have received an unprecedented level of prosperity, and with that comes challenges,” he said. "We welcome these challenges.”

Those tasks, he said, include a rising population, which puts a higher demand on housing, land availability, health care infrastructure, social programs, child care facilities, energy, a skilled workforce, education and training.

"And the list is growing,” he said.

Since becoming premier on June 11, Pasloski has made it clear he believed his party is the only one which could keep the Yukon "on track.

"Yukoners will soon have a choice to make,” he said. "Do they want to see a Yukon economy continue to grow and prosper, or do they want to change the direction?”

Changing the direction, he continued, means going "sideways or backwards.

"As leader of Team Yukon, I can assure you that a re-elected Yukon Party government will be continuing the legacy of the previous two Yukon Party governments. There will be no change in direction.”

NDP Leader Liz Hanson was the only person at the luncheon who asked the premier a question.

She wanted to know when Pasloski projected getting the $41 million in resource royalties with the new deal he struck with Prime Minister Stephen Harper during his annual northern tour.

The new resource revenue-sharing deal allows for the territory to receive up to 50 per cent of resource royalties, to the equivalent of five per cent of its gross expenditure base.

Pasloski didn't answer the question directly, saying he's not "the miner.

"We've gone from almost no exploration, no mines to almost a billion dollars generated in the economy,” he said.

Speaking to reporters after his speech, Pasloski talked about signing the papers to officially call the election— which he would do later that afternoon— and again about choosing the Yukon Party so the territory continues in a forward, instead of in a "sideways or backwards” direction.

But when it came to the question of whether the Yukon Party supports the final recommendations for the Peel watershed, the premier couldn't give a yes or no answer.

"We're going to talk about this,” he said.

Pasloski assured reporters that no matter what part of the Yukon is being talked about, the land is protected through the Yukon Environmental Socio-economic Assessment Board process.

"We're not dodging the question,” he said.

"It's a complicated answer. First it was 100 per cent, and then 80. Now the commission is saying 55. What is the number? Do we want protection in the Peel? Absolutely. The issue is how much.”

Later on Friday, the leaders of four First Nations — the Tr'ondek Hwech'in, Na-Cho Nyak Dun, Gwich'in Tribal Council and the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation— sent a joint letter to the the premier, asking him to clearly articulate the Yukon Party's position on the latest Peel plan.

"Affected First Nation and the Yukon public deserve to know your position in order to make informed choices when we go to the polls,” says the letter, published on p. 8 of today's Star. "We are calling upon you to clarify your position.”

By Nadine Sander-Green

Star Reporter