Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie has been in the hotseat over several controversies in the past few years, including secret talks with Alberta-based ATCO about the future of Yukon Energy Corp. (CBC)

Yukon Premier Dennis Fentie and his government survived a no-confidence motion presented by the opposition Liberals.

Opposition Leader Arthur Mitchell put forward the motion in the legislative assembly on Wednesday afternoon. If the motion had passed, a territorial election would have been scheduled for Dec. 29.

The motion was defeated by a vote of 8-7.

Mitchell said Fentie's Yukon Party government, which has been in power since 2002, has lost the confidence and trust of Yukoners in recent years.

The "big three" issues that Mitchell cited in his no-confidence motion were:

• About $36.5 million in government investments in the asset-backed commercial paper market, which froze shortly after those investments were made in 2007. Fentie, who is also the finance minister, authorized those investments.
• Claims that Fentie interfered with the Environment Department's submission to the Peel Watershed Planning Commission by asking a deputy minister to gut a technical report he did not agree with. Senior government officials discussed an "irate phone call" from the premier about the report in internal emails obtained by a local newspaper.
• Fentie's secret talks about merging Yukon Energy Corp. with Alberta-based ATCO. Fentie denied any privatization talks took place, but confidential discussion papers leaked to the media showed he was in talks with ATCO.

Mitchell also accused the government of not fostering better relations with First Nations and not moving quickly enough to address poverty and youth at risk.

Election would restore trust: Mitchell

Mitchell said Yukoners don't want to wait until late 2011, when Fentie's term in office ends, before they go to the polls.

"They want an opportunity to pass judgment on this government now," he told the legislature. "An election is the only way to restore public trust."

Fentie's government holds a majority in the legislative assembly, but Mitchell said he hoped Yukon Party MLAs would look into their hearts and question whether the premier has been honest.

The government was in a minority position several months ago, when then-cabinet minister Brad Cathers resigned from the Yukon Party caucus in protest of the Yukon Energy controversy.

But the Yukon Party restored its majority status last month when MLA John Edzerza rejoined the governing caucus after he had sat as an Independent for about a year.

Cathers criticizes Liberals

Cathers did not vote on Wednesday, but he criticized Fentie's leadership in his response to Mitchell's motion.

However, Cathers told the legislature he still supports the rest of the Yukon Party caucus. He also noted that opposition parties should share the blame for Yukoners' lack of trust in the government.

"Liberal MLAs have callously cast aspersions on the reputations of government employees, made those people the subject of political debate, or otherwise attacked employees and their reputations," Cathers told the legislature.

Yukon Party MLA Patrick Rouble also accused the Liberals of acting disrespectfully, noting that the house's two New Democrats have made meaningful contributions to the legislature by contrast.

The NDP MLAs supported the Liberal motion, but said they felt the whole exercise was a waste of valuable legislative time.