The Yukon's premier doesn't believe one of his ministers did anything wrong in pushing another to approve funding for a spot at a veterinary college after promising the student and the school the money would be provided.

In a brief interview this morning following an unrelated press conference in downtown Whitehorse, Premier Dennis Fentie answered a question about Economic Development Minister Jim Kenyon for the first time since documents surfaced in the Star earlier this week.

Fentie was asked if he had a concern with Kenyon's actions in light of the new information that came out earlier this week on the situation.

'Not at all. This wasn't a decision that Mr. Kenyon made. This was a decision made by the collectivity of cabinet,' Fentie said.

NDP Leader Todd Hardy, who called on the premier yesterday to fire Kenyon, is not happy with Fentie's response.

'I'm very disappointed that he's not going to take any action,' said Hardy.

'As a premier, you are responsible for the conduct of your ministers.'

Hardy believes Fentie should have taken action against the minister for lobbying on behalf of his vet clinic employee to Education Minister John Edzerza.

'His response to that is something that no other premier or government leader of this territory would have tolerated,' said Hardy.

He believes the last Yukon Party government leader, John Ostashek (1992-96), would not have put up with the actions of the Economic Development minister.

'There was integrity,' Hardy said of Ostashek.

'I think he would've dealt with this.'

The Star obtained the documents through the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act. They show Kenyon repeatedly pushed Edzerza to buy a seat at a veterinary college in Saskatchewan for a potential student.

Three times, Kenyon prodded Edzerza to put up the money, according to correspondence between the pair.

Three times, Edzerza said no, the spending could not be justified because of the high cost and the lack of need for veterinarians in the Yukon.

However, the government eventually decided to fund the seat. The documents do not indicate the reason for this.

In the documents, Kenyon's assistant warns Edzerza's assistant that the student may sue the government if it didn't put up the money, since Kenyon had already promised her and the Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) that this would happen.

The seat, according to the documents, will cost the Yukon $100,000 over four years just to buy her the place. The student still has to pay her tuition.

She has been there since last fall.

The documents indicate that the only reason the student was interviewed by the school was because Kenyon had written to the associate dean of the college promising the government would pay for the seat.

One year earlier, in 2003, the government decided not to fund the seat. The documents show an eligible student could not get into the school because of that decision by cabinet to pull the plug on the funding.

Speaking on behalf of Liberal Leader Pat Duncan, who is on holidays, Jason Cunning, her chief staffer, said Kenyon should not be kept around after his actions were brought to light.

'Kenyon should resign,' Cunning said today. 'If he won't, Fentie should show some moral leadership (and) kick him out.'

Cunning said Fentie's statement that he believes Kenyon did nothing wrong shows the premier 'doesn't value morality, integrity or ethics or anything.'

Cunning also said that just because Kenyon didn't vote on the final decision doesn't mean he didn't take part.

'Lobbying your colleagues means you were involved in the decision,' said Cunning.

Kenyon had said in November, when this controversy began, that he had absented himself from the decision to fund the seat at the school.

The student has worked for Kenyon and is still listed on his veterinary clinic's website as an employee who works there in the summer and over Christmas.

'Obviously, he played a role in his former employee getting a huge amount of money,' Cunning said.

(The money is not given to the student but paid to the college so she can attend.)

Veterinary colleges are set up so that only students from the jurisdictions which fund the schools can attend. At the WCVM, the territories can purchase one seat a year if there is an eligible candidate to fill it.

In 2003, there was an eligible student, but when the college asked the Yukon government if it would pay for the seat, it said no.

Initially, the government said the same in 2004 for the woman in question, but then cabinet decided as a whole in the summer to reverse that stance.