DAWSON CITY – Though Premier Sandy Silver might have opted for a series of informal chats with his constituents, he figured that people might prefer to have some time in a more formal setting.

Consequently, early arrivals to the Community Conversation the Klondike MLA hosted last Friday, found him setting up chairs and a table at one end of the Klondike Institute of Art and Culture (KIAC) Ballroom.

The table held an open laptop or tablet, which may have held speaking notes. Since he never did end up behind that table, that will never be known.

The early portion of the scheduled two-hour meeting was individual or small group chats.

When numbers began to accumulate and a lot of the newcomers took seats, Silver gave in to the inevitable. He spent the next 90 minutes (20 minutes past the time) talking to the crowd of 27 to 30 constituents, mostly about topics that they raised.

He began by apologizing for spending more time as premier than as MLA lately. He admitted that he missed the informality of his phone and text exchanges from before the Liberals took over the government on Dec. 3, 2016.

“Going from being the lone Liberal to being the head of government is quite a step,” he said of the previous month’s election.

He said he’s gone from being able to talk to his constituents directly about issues that are important to them to being in Ottawa (15 times, he said) or Washington, or at some other meeting, and not being available.

When you’re the opposition critic of every department, he said it’s different than having ministers working with you and needing to pass on concerns you hear about to the appropriate member of your team to deal with.

That, the premier explained, is what he’s doing.

So if people contact him about an issue that doesn’t relate to one of his portfolios (minister of the Executive Council Office and minister of Finance), he will often pass it on, and the return call may come from someone other than him.

Mining questions were the first to come from the group.

What is the future of the contentious placer operation known as the Slinky Mine?

Silver replied that the terms of the original agreement still apply.

Mining operations on the bench west of the Dome Road are to be completed by December. After that, the ground will be readied for some type of residential development.

Whether this will be country residential, with septic systems or tanks and water delivery, or a more tightly packed suburb with piped water and sewer, is something that remains to be decided. Both options have been considered by the City of Dawson.

Asked about the future of mining royalties, given the fiscal deficits era the Yukon is entering, Silver said, “I’m in no rush to raise placer royalties.”

But he reminded the questioner that there has already been a reduction in business tax rates, which did affect miners as well.

Concerns over Dawson’s housing issues brought the word that the Klondike Development Organization (KDO, which recently built an eight-unit apartment building here) has been tasked by the government to look at a number of older buildings to see what might be done to develop them for residential use.

Silver also noted that the lots once occupied by the demolished Korbo apartment building have now passed their mitigation period. They are to be considered as possible sites for building residential units of some type.

Also raised was the $260 million in federal money Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Sept. 2 in Whitehorse to develop or improve roads to various potential mine sites.

Silver was asked if this will have any impact on the choice of road to Kaminak/Gold Corp.’s Coffee project south of Dawson, which is currently the logistical centre for that route.

He replied that this is still the choice of Kaminak.

Some concerns were also expressed about the social impact of a flood of high paid mine workers appearing in the next two years.

Housing needs and possible problems related to drug and alcohol use were cited. How can a new transient, affluent population be managed?

Can the government be expected to put more money into the cultural sector in Dawson, in particular the Yukon School of Visual Arts and KIAC?

Silver reaffirmed his support for the arts in general but made no commitments at this time.

A letter from Derrick Hastings of the Conservation Klondike Society seeks the government’s assistance in creating a new recycling facility. It would replace the inadequate operation in the lane between Front Street and Second Avenue. There is land set aside for this in one of the Collision subdivisions, but it has yet to be funded.

The penultimate question of the day was about early childhood education.

This was vaguely phrased by the person who raised it, but seemed to be focused on pre-school needs, such as the Little Blue Daycare and the Canadian Prenatal Nutrition Program (CPNP). Both need expanding and more appropriate facilities, and Silver responded in those terms.

He said his government needs to look at matching federal funding for such programs, and that the Yukon Housing Corp. may be the medium to address this issue.

He said the CPNP’s local office has taken the lead in compiling numbers across the territory for its program.

“We’re looking at those statistics right now and trying to figure out a model where we can help,” Silver said.

The KDO project may also, he added, provide some possibilities for assisting the Little Blue Daycare.

Dawson is a community with a lot of access problems for people with disabilities.

The last formal item of the afternoon dealt with that issue, which Silver said the government was looking at in terms of United Nations guidelines.

The issue of marijuana regulation was raised, almost as an afterthought, though it was one of those listed on the discussion flyer.

Silver said his government feels there is no need to delay this, but that there are five things Ottawa must be clear on before it can happen across Canada.

The Yukon has to be ready, he said, because Ottawa is firm on proceeding with its plans.

He does not believe legalization will cause more smokers, but issues like taxation, regulation and means of distribution still have to be decided in the territory.

This was a polite meeting with a positive feeling, one that indicates the people who attended still have a lot of time for their MLA.

As noted at the beginning of the gathering, this had been a day of many public meetings, probably involving as many as 70 people in total.