GOVERNMENT HAS FAILED ON SEVERAL FRONTS – Russ Hobbis, who intends to run for the Yukon Liberal Party in this year’s election, speaks to reporters this morning.

Yukon Party loses former loyalist to Liberals “We have a problem. Our territorial government has lost its way.” By Aimee O'Connor on January 26, 2016

“We have a problem. Our territorial government has lost its way.”

Russ Hobbis, the owner of Bilsten Creek Tree Service, told reporters this morning he intends to run for the Yukon Liberal Party in the upcoming territorial election.

He will be seeking the nomination for Porter Creek South, the riding he previously sought with the Yukon Party in 2011 against current MLA Mike Nixon.

In a modest press conference this morning, he elaborated on his decision to try to run again, this time with a different political party.

Close to his heart is an issue with the Department of Education.

Hobbis said the department and the minister responsible have “failed” to meet the needs of children by having a lack of funding and faculty afraid to speak out in fear they lose their jobs.

“I’ll never give up fighting for Yukon’s children,” Hobbis said.

If nominated and eventually elected, he added, he would reinstate funding for education assistants and other staff who help children in schools.

A year ago, Hobbis spoke out against the Department of Education for refusing to acknowledge there are not enough education assistants in the territory.

His 11-year-old daughter, Molly, has autism. He said at the time Molly had a full-time assistant in Kindergarten, but she lost support after that.

“I had issues with the way the government deals with things that doesn’t go their way,” Hobbis said today.

It was that issue that led to his decision to run in this year’s election.

He also turned in his Yukon Party membership more than a year ago, he said.

“Yukon Party values have so far strayed. ... that I can no longer be with them.”

In addition to educational goals, Hobbis said he has been “disgusted” with the current government’s plans for the new fibre optic link along the Dempster Highway and into the Northwest Territories.

Yukon Liberal Leader Sandy Silver has similarly criticized the link for being “sole-sourced” to Northwestel Inc. “without any competition.”

Northwestel’s proposal for the link had the company contributing more than 75 per cent of the total cost of ownership, and it will assume ongoing operations and maintenance over the lifetime of the fibre.

Hobbis said if elected, he would revisit the project and make sure the project is in the interest of Yukoners – and explore the opportunity to have the project owned by Yukon government and not a private company.

Relationships between the Yukon’s First Nations and the government are also of concern to Hobbis.

“The willingness to work together is gone,” he said.

He added another campaign promise to invite First Nations’ leaders to a forum to “mend the wounds that the current government created.”

Hobbis lived in the Porter Creek South riding for about 16 years, and his fiancée still has a house there.

When asked how he felt about running against incumbent MLA Nixon, Hobbis stayed confident.

“I think my chances are good. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have put my name forward.”