Mountain view in Whitehorse, YT. (Mike Swasey)
Last week, several Skagway municipal officials made a trip north to Whitehorse, the capital of Canada’s Yukon Territory. The group attended seven meetings in two days with Whitehorse leaders to share ideas on tourism, mining, and green energy. KHNS’ Mike Swasey talked with Skagway Assemblyperson Reba Hylton about the cross-border meetings.
Swasey – Okay, Reba, there were multiple meetings about tourism, let’s start there.
Hylton – Two of the meetings were tourism-related. So it was really nice to touch base with our neighbors in the fact that their problems are our problems. They’re having a lot of trouble with staffing, and there are a lot of businesses that are currently closed. And then they’re also in need of that border opening for the vast number of cruise ship passengers that come to their smaller communities, specifically, the Carcross area.
We need that relief because if we were to get 1.2 million cruise ship visitors here, our infrastructure would be completely overwhelmed in our small community. So it’s sort of this pressure relief valve to open that border. And it looks like next year is bound to be a pretty good year for cruise ship-wise. So like I said, their problems are our problems. And if we can work together as much as possible, to push the federal entities to open that border, that’s something we’d like to do.
Swasey – And you also talk with people from the mining industry, I understand?
Hylton – The message that we brought to them was that we take over the port in 2023. And we’re currently working on plans for the port for the future, specifically the Ore dock. We just wanted them to know that we do have a placeholder for industry. And they were super excited to hear that actually. So it was positive all the way around.
Swasey – How was the idea of containerized ore shipments received?
Hylton – Well, I think the message was that we would prefer containerization. But that’s nothing that’s solidified either, but as environmentally sound as something can be would be our preference.
Swasey – Okay, well, let’s move on to that last set of meetings with the power company up there.
Hylton – We met with Yukon Energy, and that one was a really exciting meeting, as we discussed the possibility and again, this is a super long term plan, and it’s definitely in its infancy, but the possibility of bringing power down from the Yukon, solar power, specifically, to have cruise ships plug into.
Swasey – And how much electricity are they talking about bringing down to Skagway?
Hylton – It would be enough to power four ships that should we need that.
Swasey – Has there been talk from the cruise ship industry about wanting to plug in as well?
Hylton – Oh, yeah, definitely. They’re looking to go as green as possible, so there’s an interest there. And it would help secure Skagway’s future as a viable port for them.
Swasey – Is AP&T involved in this discussion?
Hylton – They would definitely have to be involved in the discussion, yeah. So this is definitely in its infancy stages. But we’re just… You got to start somewhere, and this is what we’re doing. And that’s pretty much what all these meetings were about, you know, starting, moving forward.
Swasey – How long are we talking about as far as timeframe on that deal with Yukon energy?
Hylton – Well, a deal itself, I’m not sure of. Hopefully within a year or two, but they are currently working on a project that it would plug into nicely that’s out of the Moon Lake area. So it kind of fits in nicely with what they’re already doing, which saves a lot of time and energy. But it’s a possibility it could be a reality within 10 years.
Swasey – All right, Reba, thank you so much for the breakdown.
Reba – Yeah, you’re welcome. Have a good one.
Hylton was part of a six-member delegation that made the trip to Whitehorse last week. Skagway’s borough manager and deputy, the new port director, and assemblyperson Orion Hanson also made the trip.
