oct-2017

198 199 hundreds of employees,” says Gau.“Some of the big- gest are ATCO, our energy provider; Northern Vision Development, a private real estate partnership that is over 40 percent First Nations owned; Northwest- el, our cable and internet provider; and Air North, a highly successful local airline that’s added routes fromWhitehorse directly to Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary,Yellowknife, and Ottawa.We’re very proud of them and the success they’re having.” The iconic Canadian north is beautiful, pristine, and awe-inspiring in ways that must be experi- enced, first-hand, to be appreciated.As a result, tourism is a major economic sector inWhitehorse, attracting in excess of 260,000 visitors each year. Air North and local hotels are important players, as is the Yukon government.According to Gau,“We have a partnership deal with the Yukon government –they have money to do a lot of the marketing and we take care of our city and facilitate tourism through them. It’s growing every year.While the tourist season is primarily fromMay to October, February is a big month for visitors. In February, Whitehorse hosts the Yukon Quest, Frostbite Music Festival, and the Yukon Sourdough Rendezvous.We are now preparing to host the 2020 ArcticWinter Games–the world’s largest northern multi-sport and culture event,which will compliment the winter tourism season by bringing in over 2000 athletes, coaches, and performers. It is a unique circumpolar event still showcasing traditional Arctic Sports and Dene games. Recent Arctic Winter Games have demonstrated total economic activity of YUKON OWNED AND COMMUNITY FOCUSED FREE ESTIMATES castlerockent.com • 867.668.6188 FAX: 867.633.2621 20 Laberge Rd., Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 5Y8 CERTIFIED SEPTIC SYSTEMS LAND REMEDIATION • FULL SERVICE DESIGN BUILD QUALITY SCREENED TOPSOIL CUSTOM SCREENING • SAND, GRAVEL & CRUSHED ROCK • HIGHWAY & OFF-ROAD TRUCKING SNOW REMOVAL • LANDSCAPING COMPLETE SITE PREPARATION CLEARING&GRUBBING, EXCAVATION, UNDERGROUNDWATER, SEWER, STORM, ELECTRICAL, DEMOLITION, BASEMENTS, SITE GRADING WHITEHORSE, YUKON TERRITORY PREFERRED VENDOR n Castle Rock Enterprises www.castlerockent.com $13.2 million.” Whitehorse is constantly trying to make doing business in the city easier. Its approach to commu- nity economic development works together with the non-profit sector, the government sector, and the business sector. Gau acknowledges,“Companies are more mobile now, picking where they locate rather than it being dictated bymarkets.We see our knowledge sector growing.Yukon College is thriv- ing and is well on its way to becoming a university. We’re not chasing smokestacks; we want to create a very liveable, great quality of life place for our residents and prospective businesses. That’s our focus. And even if they don’t come, we’ve created a wonderful home for our local residents.”