A Yukon Party MLA-designate admitted Wednesday to forging a government document — although he did it two years ago and his fine was a mere $289.

Wade Istchenko, who will be sworn in as the Yukon Party MLA for Kluane on Saturday, said he decided to call a press conference Wednesday because he needed to come clean with the Yukon public on giving false information on his application for his annual wilderness tourism licence.

He was joined by Premier Darrell Pasloski in the cabinet offices.

Istchenko ran Kluane Ridin' Adventures Tours out of Haines Junction until he was elected into office Oct. 11. In late 2008, he took a first aid course required for his operating licence, but it was the wrong one.

"When I took the certificate in to the Environment department with my application for a licence, I got a call back from the department stating that I had taken training which did not include the CPR.”

But CPR was required, so Istchenko fudged the document.

"This was a lapse in judgment, and I do regret it,” he said.

The false information wasn't noticed by conservation officers until late the next summer, and he was given a ticket for falsifying a document.

Because of the delay in noting the infraction, Istchenko said he had to wait until the court date to pay the ticket, but paid it at the first opportunity, in March 2010.

"And the matter was closed.”

Pasloski wouldn't say whether this new information will affect whether he chooses Istchenko for a cabinet position.

"We reduce the options for Wade in terms of cabinet into two: in or out,” he said.

The premier said he wasn't aware of Istchenko's wrongdoings, but made it clear he's ready to put it behind him in the name of honesty.

"As MLA Istchenko has said, this is not something he's proud of,” Pasloski said.

"It takes strength of character to come out to the public with something like this.

" It also demonstrated his commitments to openness, honesty, transparency and accountability, which are all principles that our government believes in and will hold to.”

At the start of September, the Yukon Party dumped Gerrard Flemming, then its Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes candidate, after learning of a sexual harassment case he was involved with in 2003.

Istchenko said he did not come clean during the campaign because the issue wasn't brought up. He thought it would be "nice for people to know the person they elected and any wrongdoings they have done.

"For me, it didn't seem to be that big of an issue. But now that I'm in the public's eye, things pop up in people's lives that they realize they should come forward with.”

He said he remembered during the MLA briefing sessions this week, as he learned how each department functions.

"It's not like I was hiding anything, it was just something I recalled and thought ‘Geez, I should let the team know about it.'”

Opposition Leader Liz Hanson told the Star late this morning that no one is perfect and no political party is immune to this kind of situation.

"If this is the start of the premier doing politics in a different, open way, then I support him,” said Hanson.

As for whether she think this will affect Istchenko's prospects of getting into the cabinet, Hanson said that's a matter between the future MLA and the premier.

"I guess I'll have to wait like everyone else until Saturday afternoon,” she said.

The new cabinet will be sworn in at 2 p.m. Saturday at a public ceremony to be held in the Yukon government administration building lobby.