Ross River chief pleaded with Yukon gov't to continue dog control program

A series of letters in early 2011 between Ross River Dena Council Chief Jack Caesar and then-Community Services Minister Archie Lang reveal that the First Nation pleaded with the Yukon government to continue with the Yukon Dog Management Pilot Program.

The issue has particular urgency in the wake of last week's news that 22-year-old Shane Glada was killed by dogs in the community last fall.

• Dogs killed Ross River man found dead last fall, coroner tells community

Your decision to discontinue funding... places citizens in our community at risk- Ross River Dena Council chief Jack Caesar in a 2011 letter to the Yukon government

The pilot program involved a number of measures, including a spay/neuter clinic in the community, and development of culturally appropriate dog control programs. The government canned it in 2010.

"Your decision to discontinue funding [for the pilot program]... places citizens in our community at risk," Caesar wrote to Lang in a January 2011 letter.

Lang replied a couple of weeks later, saying his department was reviewing the program, "to determine what pieces of the program we can effectively deliver this year given current capacity and budget."

Another letter from Caesar to Lang in March of that year noted that the "cost of the program... is far less than the cost associated with potential civil claims incurred by YG [the Yukon government] as a result of inappropriate or absent dog management.

"It is the YG, and not the RRDC [Ross River Dena Council], that will be held liable for consequences caused by the lack of dog management-related Ross River infrastructure," the letter also states.

In another letter six months later, to newly-elected Community Services Minister Elaine Taylor, Caesar pleaded again for help.

"Minister Taylor, will you please direct Community Services staff to move forward with the .... pilot program?"

The Yukon government did not resurrect the program. 

First Nation waits for response from government        

Today, Caesar continues to wait for elected officials from the Yukon government to contact him on what he considers an urgent public safety issue — the community's ongoing problem with aggressive dogs.

It's been over a week since Yukon coroner Kirsten Macdonald met with the community and said she would let the First Nation "take the lead" on the issue.

But Caesar has said that the community cannot do it alone, and needs real help from the Yukon government.

On Tuesday in the legislature, Liberal Leader Sandy Silver took up the cause, pressing the government to explain exactly how it has helped Ross River.

"What steps is the government taking in the short term to address the current public safety concerns in the community of Ross River?" Silver asked.

"Has anyone from this government — and I mean, elected official, spoken with the Ross River Dena Council since this public meeting was held?"

Environment Minister Wade Istchenko said the coroner's report on Glada's death is still forthcoming, and the government doesn't want to interfere with that.

He added that the government has offered to help the First Nation.

"We're up front, right there working with Ross River on whatever they need. We've reached out to the chief, we've done a lot. We've sent letters and we're working with them as we speak."

However, the chief and deputy chief of the Ross River Dena Council say they have not heard from either the minister of community services, the environment minister, or the MLA for Ross River, Stacey Hassard.