Premier Darrell Pasloski has pledged to lay the groundwork for creating a natural gas industry in the Yukon if he is elected next Tuesday.

The promise was one of many energy-related plans the premier, along with Copperbelt North candidate Currie Dixon and Takhini-Kopper King candidate Samson Hartland, announced this morning.

"Unaffordable or unavailable energy would drastically impact our way of life and our future prosperity,” the premier said.

Pasloski said research has proven the territory has natural gas available in the Whitehorse trough in south-central Yukon east of the Lewes River arc and in the Eagle Plain Basin in north-central Yukon.

"We will lay the groundwork by creating the policy and regulatory environment to allow for the import and development of this resource and associated infrastructure,” Pasloski said.

"In short, we will foster a natural gas industry in the Yukon, as it is a proven and reliable energy alternative to the non-renewable resource already in use.”

The premier called the plan a "medium-term project”, meaning it could possibly be done within five years.

"As it stands right now, we don't have the regulatory framework to allow for the processing of natural gas (or) the piping of natural gas,” Dixon said.

"We know we've got a significant resource here in the Yukon in terms of natural gas. We know that natural gas is cleaner, cheaper than diesel, and we know that it's a resource we should be exploiting more.”

In the short term, Pasloski said, a Yukon Party government would promote green energy by the development of an independent power producer policy which would include providing a guaranteed fixed rate for small, clean energy projects.

This would "give certainty to the renewable energy industry and try to develop a green energy industry in the Yukon,” Dixon said.

In the long term, the government would build a new large-scale hydroelectric project and extend the current power grid to Alaska or B.C., Pasloski said.

The cost or timeline for these projects was not made clear except to call them "long-term.

"We want to invest in grid extension not to buy power but to sell power,” Pasloski said. "Hydro is the cleanest energy we can use, and will help us meet our energy needs in a clean and responsible way.”

Pasloski said he hopes First Nations will be a partner in the projects, as it will provide "guaranteed return for generations.

"We look at the Whitehorse Dam and the Mayo B dam; these are projects that have been returning investment to Yukoners for more than half a century.” he said.

Talk of working with the First Nations led to questions about whether those governments would be willing to co-operate with Pasloski on the projects, given their apparent frustration over his stance on the protection of the Peel watershed.

In a letter released Tuesday and published in today's Star, four chiefs of First Nations with interests in the region accuse the premier of "fear-mongering” and not having a clear stance when it comes to recommendations calling for the protection of 80 per cent of the area.

The chiefs urge all voters to give consideration to a party's stance on the Peel before casting their vote on Oct. 11.

Pasloski said his position on the matter is clear.

"I don't believe you can accept a plan without knowing all the information. No government can promise to implement something without having any clue as to what it is going to cost. That is purely irresponsible.”

The Yukon's energy future was also a key topic for the Liberals today.

Leader Arthur Mitchell said a Liberal government would pass a Yukon Energy Protection Act to ensure existing Yukon Energy assets remain in public hands.

"In the last session (of the legislature), we tabled legislation, which the Yukon Party refused to support, that would have safeguarded our energy infrastructure. If we are elected to government on Oct. 11, we're prepared to move forward with a similar bill,” Mitchell said in a press release.

"The Yukon Energy sell-off destroyed Yukoners' confidence in the (former premier Dennis) Fentie/Pasloski government, and with good reason – they violated the public trust they were elected to uphold,” said Mitchell.

"How can anyone trust anything this Yukon Party government tells them when we've seen how easy it is for them to mislead the public and participate in backroom deals?”

A Liberal regime would ensure the government publishes sole-source contracts monthly, would improve public access to government documents and establish a website to post online all MLAs' expense claims.

It would also report on results of meetings associated with travel, Mitchell said.