Whitehorse Daily Star

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NDP Leader Liz Hanson

YouTube videos mock NDP leader

A series of YouTube videos attempting to slam the NDP has Yukoners wondering who is behind the gag.

By Nadine Sander-Green on January 17, 2012

A series of YouTube videos attempting to slam the NDP has Yukoners wondering who is behind the gag.

QueenLizYT is aYouTube channel created Jan. 6.

Three videos making fun of the official Opposition have been uploaded since then.

The video with the most views —231 since it was uploaded five days ago — is based on a discussion in the last session of the legislature.

At that time, NDP Leader Liz Hanson referred to the governing caucus as "stunned bunnies” after confusion over what document the Yukon Party was referencing.

The video plays the audio recording of the discussion between Hanson and Premier Darrell Pasloski while cartoon rabbits fill the screen.

The 30-second clip ends with with a drawing of three bunnies stunned in the headlights of Yukon Party cabinet minister Brad Cathers' car.

"The fact that this is all done anonymously is quite telling,” Ryan Stewart, the chief of staff for the NDP, said Monday.

"Why do they have to hide behind a veil of secrecy?”

Hanson was returning from vacation Monday and was not available for comment.

Stewart said he thinks most Yukoners will realize the videos are just a cheap tactic to score points.

"We're not too distracted by political attacks.”

Stewart said he is worried this will encourage Yukoners to "tune out” of politics when they're seeing politicians "flinging mud” instead of talking about the issues.

He did not want to speculate on who is creating the videos.

Elaine Schiman, a spokesperson for the cabinet office, said Monday it is a priority for the Yukon Party to have good decorum.

"This event will have no impact on the relationship between MLAs,” she said.

Although the three videos combined have garnered over 500 views, it's definitely not considered viral by YouTube standards.

The video of a group of college students playing pond hockey on a smoothly iced-over Windy Arm Lake, which was posted in mid-December, has almost 350,000 views.

Comments (5)

Up 0 Down 0

Groucho d'North on Jan 19, 2012 at 11:06 am

Why is it that politicians and their toadies think they are the only ones who may comment on the political activities in the Legislature? Their antics in that hall speak to the future of all Yukoners, and as such we also have a voice they should get into the habit of listening to. Queen Liz didn't, and that's why her seat in the Leg is located where it is.

Kudos to whomever the producer of these lampoons may be, they scored; otherwise we would not have heard about them.

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Yukoner on Jan 18, 2012 at 2:40 pm

I agree with North of 60. These videos look like a fair representation of actual occurrences, to me. I don't consider the use of cartoons to be an attack either, but rather a means of conveying the information in a light-hearted and more viewable manner. And perhaps that NDP spokesperson should direct Ms Hanson to watch the Positive Leadership video. It appears they have some work to do in the decorum department before casting stones from their glass house.

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Thomas Brewer on Jan 17, 2012 at 11:30 am

Since the article failed to provide a link to the videos in question, so that readers can form their own opinions:

http://www.youtube.com/user/QueenLizYT

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north of 60 on Jan 17, 2012 at 10:05 am

I forgot to add that I didn't create the videos. I would be more than happy to take credit for the creative and investigative work they represent if I had. Too bad our media can't be equally informative. It's 'quite telling' that the NDP spokesperson couldn't refute the videos with any facts, but rather had nothing but lame criticism of the creators.

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north of 60 on Jan 17, 2012 at 9:59 am

I looked at the videos to decide for myself if the claim they were 'political attacks' was based on fact or personal opinion. The content of those videos is information in the public record. The videos stated nothing hateful or untrue about the NDP; they didn't attack the NDP. The only attacks were in the comments that the NDP leader stated. The public has a right to know what their political representatives say and where the funding for their political parties comes from. I found these videos very informative. I'd describe them more as Public Service Announcements, rather than 'political attacks'.

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