Pillai questioned on Rex Murphy’s visit to geoscience forum
The territorial government was again questioned about the choice of a speaker set to visit the Yukon, sparked in part by a petition signed by more than 150 people.
The territorial government was again questioned about the choice of a speaker set to visit the Yukon, sparked in part by a petition signed by more than 150 people.
It comes after Yukon NDP MLA Liz Hanson wondered how much money is being pitched in by the government to fund the annual geoscience forum, set to begin Saturday.
That event will see journalist Rex Murphy, who once hosted CBC radio’s Cross Country Checkup, address delegates.
Murphy wrote a recent piece in the National Post, which the petition says had a hostile tone to the testimony of Christine Blasey Ford.
In that piece, Murphy questioned the credibility of Blasey Ford, who came forward with sexual assault allegations earlier this year against U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
She testified before the U.S. Senate judiciary committee this fall, and Kavanaugh was eventually approved to sit on the high court.
“What was credible about an alleged event from three and a half decades ago, brought up during the most critical moment of the most important appointment to the United States Supreme Court?” Murphy wrote in part.
Rachel Grantham, the Whitehorse creator of the petition, said the Post piece lacked empathy or respect for Blasey Ford and any other women who bring forward “unsubstantiated” allegations.
In the legislature, Economic Development Minister Ranj Pillai assured that there is no money being put toward inviting Murphy here.
Rather, the choice of speaker was one left up to the Yukon Chamber of Mines, which hosts the event.
After receiving a concern about the speaker from at least one person, Pillai said he passed that on to Samson Hartland, the mine’s executive director.
“They have informed us that the funding that the Yukon government provides to geosciences,” Pillai explained, “will not be used to support Rex Murphy as a speaker.”
For his part, Hartland said he understood that Murphy’s opinions may not be in line with all Canadians, but the chamber was looking forward to his perspective on the new trade deal among the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Acknowledging the chamber had chosen the speaker, Hanson pressed on in the assembly, saying “this does not change the fact that government money funds this event.
“It sends a troubling message for the government to fund a speaker who defends Brett Kavanaugh and thinks women should be charged for bringing up their experiences of abuse.”
The NDP leader added that those values are “so far removed from most Yukoners.”
In response, Pillai offered clarification.
“We are funding this event. We are not funding the speaker,” he said.
“I appreciate the sensitivity to this on this particular topic,” he added, explaining that’s why he passed on the note of concern to the chamber.
This isn’t the first time the minister has been under fire about speakers invited to the territory during this sitting.
Just last month, Pillai faced criticism from the Yukon Party, among others, for inviting McKinsey & Company’s Dominic Barton to the Opportunities North conference.
McKinsey has done work that has been apparently used in part by the Saudi Arabia government to target some of its critics, as well as signed an illegal contract with the South African regime. Barton had since taken responsibility for the latter.
The government was listed as one of the sponsors of that event, with Pillai defending that decision as well.
See letter in tomorrow’s Star.
Comments (27)
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Noah Bull on Nov 23, 2018 at 10:20 pm
Dear Moose - October has come and gone... It appears you have missed your calling.
Lawyer is the last profession that should be generalized as indicating a qualification for human service work. They are legally trained and taught to disregard the human variable.
Engineer. Really? Algorithms for votes or algorithms to get votes?
Again - Education in and of itself is irrelevant. Furthermore, because of the ubiquity of cognitive biases, the limitations of human cognition, and the influence of feeling and mood over cognition the assumption of the value of experience is just stupid. Experience is an illusion and even if one had such a thing in one context it could not apply to another as the world is, despite our need, is extremely complex and ever changing!
So - When people talk about education and experience they are often just recycling oxygen.
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Steppenwolfe on Nov 23, 2018 at 9:58 pm
@ Just Sayin - You have 3 degrees and you feel ill equipped to represent any else’ opinion other than your own.
Sounds like you have some practical knowledge... Maybe?
Most of human cognition occurs at the unconscious level and our decisions are made preconsciously and we generally give life to them by seeking out confirming rather than disconfirming evidence.
This is why human decision-making is less than optimal. The tendency to not consider the alternatives.
If one of your degrees is not psychology you might want to give it a try. If one of them is a psychology degree you might want to try again.
And this whole issue of qualification... Stop it! Just because one was qualified [educated] 5, 10, 15, 20..., 30 years ago does not make one qualified in the now. It is an arrogant assumption. One which is highly detrimental to civil society.
The idea that a practical or common knowledge or practical exists is just something that is said to placate the stupid people - degreed or not. Although, quite often it is not stupidity but rather laziness that supports the current political correctness trend to dumb everything down - Welcome to the Idiocracy!
There are very few intelligent people doing intelligent things in the Yukon because they are too vested in the feel-good, politics of identity. Demand intelligence from your leadership but do not hold your breath while you wait!
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KC on Nov 20, 2018 at 2:51 pm
BnR - Ahhh so "qualified" has been redefined from how it is traditionally understood -- meaning whether someone has sufficient education and experience to perform a particular role -- to whether you subjectively approve of their performance. Gotcha.
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north_of_60 on Nov 20, 2018 at 2:32 pm
Qualifications don't matter in elections. They are a popularity contest like selecting Prom Royalty, not picking the Valedictorian. The current Liberal govt is a perfect example of this.
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BnR on Nov 20, 2018 at 12:02 pm
Ok KC, you've listed what he's done, but is he qualified? THAT'S the question, and from I've seen, he is NOT qualified.
Maybe think before providing stupid answers.
And Moose, you're confusing education and qualifications.
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they're elected, not hired on Nov 20, 2018 at 9:03 am
This isn't like getting a job where you apply and need credentials to be hired for a job. Anyone can be elected in to government. Just because you are elected in, it doesn't mean you know the difference between a square and a circle.
If you have a problem with the government, put your name out there to run in the next one. If they don't know what they're doing, maybe you would have the common sense to know how to solve these problems.
This is an in general comment regarding all our elected politicians that are representing something they have no clue about...not just specifically Ranj.
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What exactly are you reading? on Nov 19, 2018 at 10:43 pm
@Blaisely Ford - please provide a link, and I'll be happy to read it
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Just Sayin’ on Nov 19, 2018 at 3:36 pm
Perhaps, we should have blue collared workers in Government versus the highly educated who seem to not accomplish anything, but ensure they get a pension.
Furthermore, there is something to be said for practical knowledge versus a degree. I have three, yet feel ill equipped to represent anyone’s views other than my own.
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KC on Nov 19, 2018 at 10:19 am
Josey Wales - Whatever one thinks of the current government (and I don't necessarily agree with your assessment) Pillai is qualified for the job.
And while "part time substitute drama teacher" may be a popular was to bash Justin Trudeau it isn't a full and fair reflection of HIS qualifications either. Trudeau found full time permanent employment at West Point Gray and Sir Winston Churchill Secondary. He taught French and Math -- not just drama. He was also involved in non-profits including Katimavik, the Canadian Avalanche Foundation and several other ad hoc programs.
I mean it's fair to not like these guys or their politics but this line of attack is baseless. Andrew Scheer's only job outside politics was as an insurance broker and let's not even get started with some of our other territorial politicians.
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Josey Wales on Nov 18, 2018 at 7:04 am
Hey KC...you forgot bartender.
He served me a few frosty ones, and seemed like a genuine nice guy.
And he still may be that seemingly nice guy, but his team really really sucks.
Was very surprised he took this path into team red politics.
Guess like any smart person, seen an opportunity to gain more, and seized it.
Actually as I wrap this up...reality is he has a more diversified and tangible work history than his part time substitute drama teacher national leader.
Geeeeeze....AND that led me to the depressing conclusion, that could probably be said for each comrade in team red under the leadership of Mr. Dress Up.
....hence thee mess. In the mere opinion of OJW
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Blaisely Ford comments on Nov 17, 2018 at 3:50 pm
Yes her comments were found to be false.
Read the FBI report including statements that were provided from witnesses.
She does not have a fear of flying (travelled Hawaii with her ex)
She did train people to cheat a polygraph.
She does not have a fear of being in large groups
She did have multiple partners after the "false" attack.
^^^ She said the opposite in front of the senate committee while under oath.
The investigation into perjury is ongoing (again, read the news)
I find it hilarious that you're saying the "alex jones" conspiracists
when it's clear you haven't read the FBI's report.
You would also know about two men that came forward and explained that they were in that situation with her at another party. That letter is part of the exhibits. Apparently you're so stuck up on your opinion that you won't even read the facts.
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Moose on Nov 17, 2018 at 12:55 pm
@BnR You really want to talk about qualifications for government portfolios? Ok, well we currently have a former ombudsmen and lawyer (McPhee) in charge of Justice. Compared to the previous government who had Brad Cathers who is just a career politician who I think worked at a hotel many years ago and has little if any post secondary education. Community Services we have John Streicker who is an Engineer (I think) and was a City Councillor vs Dixon who is educated but from what I heard only worked at some bars in town. Though I will admit he may have a bright future if he stays kind of moderate. Pasloski was a Pharmacist so of course educated, but I think that was kind of annulled by his devout religious social conservative views which aren't logical at all. The current Cabinet also has a longtime journalist, a VGFN negotiator and president of the VGFN dev corp, a Director of Justice for KDFN and also another lawyer! There really is no comparison in horsepower between this government and the previous one and current Yukon Party. Its like night and day.
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omg, some of the comments on here on Nov 17, 2018 at 10:37 am
Rex Murphy fan or no, I don't really care. But I keep seeing that Blasey-Ford was found to be a 'liar' and there's 'perjury charges being considered', neither of which are true (unless you're listening to whack-a-doodles like Alex Jones, and if you are, guess you'll believe anything). A different woman's allegations were found to be 'not credible' but not Blasey-Ford's.
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Fred Norris on Nov 16, 2018 at 4:29 pm
What is noticeably absent in all this discussion, both in the legislature and in other forums, is the defence of free speech. Rex Murphy has been giving his opinion for many years now, and has the right to do so, as do the rest of us. This is a right guaranteed to Canadians under the Charter Of Rights and Freedoms. To be actively engaged is to ensure that my speech, your speech, Rachel Grantham’s, Rex Murphy’s, etc. etc. will be protected, and nurtured.
Shame on our MLA’s for not recognizing the importance of not attempting to silence free speech and freedom of the press. Instead, the Yukon’s political leaders drag us down by bringing the U.S. political circus to our legislature.
Rachel, remember this: in the game of freedom, the most protected form of speech is that which one disagrees with...
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Tom Stevens on Nov 16, 2018 at 12:06 pm
Enough of the radical left and the crazy nonsense they spout. And the Government should not worry about this meaningless petition.
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Mad Trapper of Riverdale on Nov 16, 2018 at 10:35 am
Hypocritical left wingers are outraged about a conservative journalist's comments about a conservative judge, but completely ignore Justin Trudeau's groping allegations...which unlike Ford's, weren't debunked.
Would these people be creating petitions if this was a Greenpeace conference instead of a mining conference ??
#Mee Too only applies to conservatives?
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KC on Nov 16, 2018 at 9:34 am
BnR - What are Pillai's qualifications? In addition to being university educated he worked at the college for ten years, was a VP of Northern Vision, a Whitehorse city councillor, ED of the Champagne Aishihik First Nation, and served on various boards and committees. Not sure what further qualifications you might require. Maybe think before asking stupid questions.
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Give it a rest on Nov 15, 2018 at 6:30 pm
Let’s just keep beating this dead horse. This was a last ditch effort by the Democrats to stop a Supreme Court judge nomination and they used Ford as a pawn. This should have never played out like the circus it did in front of the media. Rex wrote an article as an opinion piece. Now we have people in the Yukon protesting against a decision made by the majority of the senate in the United States of America. If you don’t like Rex, don’t go to the event. That’s called freedom of choice.
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Hugh Mungus on Nov 15, 2018 at 6:14 pm
Rex is a senile old goat. He should be in an echo chamber with Don Cherry and they can wallow in their hate. I didn't want a penny of my tax dollars going to either of them.
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Jonah Whale on Nov 15, 2018 at 5:19 pm
This is such a waste of people's time. Let Rex speak and the sensitivity police can find a more black and white example for their social justice.
Rachel can perhaps volunteer at the food bank or Sally Anne kettle to make the world a little nicer.
Maybe I need to be more sensitive too, but the world is very harsh and there are more formidable causes to champion.
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Tater on Nov 15, 2018 at 4:33 pm
I still want to know where I can sign a petition of support for Rex!
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Bill Ball on Nov 15, 2018 at 4:29 pm
Oh Liz why do you meddle in such matters. People next time around can we vote the NDP down to Zero. Can’t wait to hear Rex speak...Liz maybe take in an hour and learn something.
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yet again... on Nov 15, 2018 at 4:10 pm
Ford is being considered for perjury. She lied in front of senate. Go read the FBI report. If anything it shows Rex has insight!
Or I guess we could invite Ford and be happy with being lied to !
Wait the Yukon did vote Liberal
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BnR on Nov 15, 2018 at 3:48 pm
Kinda curious.
Besides being Silvers buddy from Antigonish, what are Pillais qualifications for being the minister of, well, anything?
I suppose the same question could be asked of many ministers in this and other Yukon governments.
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ProScience Greenie on Nov 15, 2018 at 3:23 pm
Wonder what the SJW warrior crew would think if it was the very intelligent and articulate Jordan Peterson speaking at GeoScience?
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ProScience Greenie on Nov 15, 2018 at 3:22 pm
The main issue with Kavanaugh isn't that he's a spoiled frat boy beer pig or that all that beer and entitlement when young meant he perhaps might have been confused about no meaning no. The main issue with Kavanaugh is that it seems that he might support the idea that the POTUS is above the law and not accountable to 'We the People'. The Founding Fathers were firm on this, the current POTUS and crew not so much.
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ProScience Greenie on Nov 15, 2018 at 3:18 pm
If a person doesn't like Rex Murphy, don't go hear him speak. Simple as that. If a person doesn't like Liz Hanson then they don't have to listen to her or vote for her. Simple as that. Carry on.