The Yukon government’s seven-member group that is to deliver a final report to its Tourism and Culture minister in September was announced Wednesday.

That’s Jeanie Dendys, who explained the Yukon Tourism Development Strategy Governance Task Force will have its first meeting on April 8, with the total budget for the project being $50,000.

The group will research and evaluate a number of tourism governance models, including the current one set up, and provide a recommendation to YG on the best model for the Yukon.

The members are:

Vicki Hancock (chair);
Ben Ryan;
Justin Ferbey;
Marilyn Jensen;
Michelle Kolla;
Rich Thompson; and
Valerie Royle.

The announcement of the task force comes after Dendys unveiled the Yukon Tourism Development Strategy 2018-2028: Sustainable Tourism. Our Path. Our Future.

Setting up the group was one of the seven actions laid out in that strategy.

“Tourism means a lot to Yukon,” Dendys said Wednesday. “It is a strategic industry for the territory that generates important revenues for Yukon businesses and is Yukon’s largest private-sector employer.”

It also balances economic development with environmental community and cultural values.

“With a new tourism strategy, it makes sense to evaluate and assess how we can best align the efforts of government and industry, improve efficiency and support sustainable tourism industry growth,” she added in a release.

“We know there are different governance models in different jurisdictions in Canada, and we want to make sure we have the one that makes sense for Yukon.”

Those could include models like a Crown corporation, a special operating agency, or a private-public sector partnership and more.

“This does not mean the current model is broken,” Dendys said.

“The Yukon tourism industry has matured to a point where now is a very good time to reassess the model we have been relying on for the past 20 years continues to be the right governance approach.”

Thompson, who will serve on the task force, also spoke Wednesday.

“One of the key pillars that was in the plan was this notion of what was originally presented as a Crown corporation,” he said. That eventually expanded to consider the most appropriate government models that had been used across the country.

“We certainly felt this was a bold and important consideration, one that needed to be appropriately studied and one that had the potential to make a lot of changes in the tourism industry going forward.”

Hancock was pleased to be chairing the group.

“There is nothing better,” she said, than that feeling “when you’re showing the Yukon to your family, your friend, neighbours, visitors – you just get passionate because it’s the best place to be.”

Public Service Commissioner Pamela Muir will be an advisor to the task force to provide information and advice on the impacts of options.

The last tourism vision was developed in 2000, and the task force will look at models with an eye on revenue generation capabilities, competitiveness, and performance pay funding models, among others.

According to the terms of reference for the force, suggestions are not to include models that will see ongoing increases in operations and maintenance costs to YG or include any layoffs to permanent staff.

“Any reorganization must be in compliance with the Yukon Employees’ Union Collective Agreement,” it reads.

The task force will submit a draft report to YG by July 1, with a final report coming to it no later than September, and becoming public once YG receives and reviews the recommendations.

The 2019-20 budget set aside $875,000 to work on the seven priority actions set forth in the strategy.

Hancock held several leadership positions with the government and retired as deputy minister of Tourism and Culture.

She was also the president of the Yukon Liquor and Housing corporations.

She has considerable experience in administrative justice and board governance.

Since 2006, Hancock has been the alternate chair of the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board.

She served as the chair of appeal panels of the board of directors for occupational health and safety and assessment matters.

Born and raised in the Yukon, Ryan is an entrepreneur with experience in aviation, tourism, energy and finance.

As the chief commercial officer of Air North, he oversees sales, marketing, IT, and loyalty and customer experience, as well as business development of ancillary divisions in charters, groundhandling and commercial fuel sales.

He is also president and CEO of Air North’s subsidiary, Chieftain Energy.

Ferbey was appointed deputy minister of Economic Development in March 2016. He is also president and chief executive officer of Yukon Development Corp. and former chief executive officer of the Carcross-Tagish Management and Development Corp.

Jensen is the president of the Yukon First Nation Culture and Tourism Association and is on the executive of the board for Indigenous Tourism Canada. She has taught First Nation Governance at Yukon College and works closely with many Indigenous communities as a senior consultant focusing on Indigenous self-determination and wellness.

Kolla has worked with non-profits for 15 years, including the Skookum Jim Friendship Centre and Council of Yukon First Nations as its executive director.

Thompson is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Northern Vision Development LP (Real Estate, Hotels) and of Medstate Developments LP (Medical Diagnostic Imaging). He is also the chairman of Zero Gravity Inc. (Marketing, Advertising).

He is well-known in the Canadian advertising community, private company investment circles and in the northern Canadian real estate arena.

In 2004, he co-founded Northern Vision Development LP (NVD), the most active real estate company in Yukon. Serving on the board since formation, he took over as that partnership’s CEO in March 2009.

Since August 2017, Royle has been the deputy minister of Tourism and Culture and of the Women’s Directorate.

Prior to this she operated her own executive management consulting business after working with Bluedrop Learning Networks as their vice-president of workplace safety and apprenticeship.

She served as the deputy minister of Education from 2012 to 2015 and the president and chief executive officer of the Yukon Workers’ Compensation Health and Safety Board from 2005 to 2012.