The opposition parties are concerned the Yukon government may not be doing enough to settle the veterinary school controversy.

NDP Leader Todd Hardy does not feel taking the matter of Economic Development Minister Jim Kenyon and his comments last week toward the Department of Education to the conflicts commissioner will clear up the entire situation.

'I feel, though, that taking it to the conflicts commissioner is a way to avoid proper scrutiny of what has happened,' Hardy said in an interview.

He pointed out there was a number of accusations made by Kenyon against the department and individuals within the department of misleading the minister, of giving false information, of not following political direction from having a say and to address what happened themselves.

He said if doesn't address these accusations by Kenyon, the accusation made last week by Education Minister John Edzerza that the department withheld information from him, and if it doesn't address Premier Dennis Fentie's role in this, 'then it doesn't serve much purpose.'

Another issue is the student from 2003 for whom the government refused to pay for a spot at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine. The following year, after an initial refusal and a push by Kenyon, the government did purchase a spot for another student who is a seasonal employee of Kenyon's.

'I'm not sure it's going to address the injustice' of the 2003 student getting rejected, Hardy said.

'If all it does is try to show that Mr. Kenyon was in conflict, specifically in a conflict in lobbying on behalf of an employee and whether that person is a constituent or not, then it's a very small box that we're talking about,' the NDP leader said.

Hardy believes the parameters the conflicts commissioner works under are too strict.

'I have no problem with it going to the conflicts commission but I also believe that we need to go farther,' he said.

He believes the only way to clear everything would be to take it to an independent public inquiry, but it is up to Fentie to call such an inquiry. Earlier this month, Fentie rejected just such a request.

However, Liberal Leader Pat Duncan hopes that if the right question is asked, then all of the matters can be dealt with by the commissioner.

In reading the act, she said that the premier can ask the commissioner to examine a specific issue that is part of the matter but may not normally fit under the conflict of interest umbrella.

Like Hardy, she wants to know if a Yukoner was treated unfairly in not getting the position paid for them, and therefore was kept from going to veterinary school, in 2003.

She hopes that if the premier asks conflicts commissioner David Jones to broaden scope that the Edmonton-based lawyer will accede to Fentie's wishes.

There are other questions which need to be answered, Duncan said.

Included in that list is whether the student Kenyon lobbied for was actually his constituent and whether Kenyon's private interest would have benefitted from her getting the spot at the college.

'Did Dr. Kenyon or his business expect to benefit or anticipate to benefit in any (way) from the student obtaining her doctorate?' she asked.

Kenyon is a veterinarian by trade.

Duncan will write up a list of questions and send them to the cabinet, with the hopes they will be added to the queries if they're not already listed.

Hardy doesn't think Duncan will be successful.

'I don't have a great deal of confidence they're going to let Pat Duncan frame the question,' he said.

Hardy will wait until he sees the questions Kenyon puts to the commissioner before he decides whether to push again for a public inquiry, but he said he still would like to see such an inquiry.

In November, Hardy wrote to Kenyon asking him to go to the conflicts commissioner to determine if he was in conflict by pushing to get the government to fund a spot at the veterinary college for his seasonal employee.

'As this story unfolded, I felt we moved far beyond the conflicts commissioner.'

DuringTuesday's press conference, Fentie refused to answer any further questions about any aspect of the situation, including the 2003 student, despite the fact that doesn't appear to be under the mandate of the conflicts commissioner.