John Ostashek (1936 - 2007)
John Ostashek was born in High Prairie, Alberta. (“John Ostachek.” Wikipedia, 2019 website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ostashek)) He quit school after grade 11 and, with a $500 loan from his father, started what became a million-dollar outfitting business in Alberta. He helped to build the Yukon Party in the 1970s.1)
Ostashek had a 20-hectare hay farm at Burwash Landing. He met Ollie Wirth in the mid-80s after Ollie moved north to take over the Burwash Landing Resort. The place had been empty all winter and Ostashek insisted that the Wirths stay with him at this ranch while Ollie got the heat and systems going. Over the years, the pair would go flying to check on Ostashek's seventy head of horses and they hunted and fished together. When Ostashek went into politics, Ollie ran for him in Kluane.2)
Ostashek was elected leader of the Yukon Party in 1992 and his party won the election later that year. He refused to use the title of premier, reverting instead to the title of government leader. His minority government managed to stay in power with the support of right-leaning independent MLAs.3)
Three First Nation land claim agreements were signed during his term in office.4) The NDP supported the Umbrella Final Agreement in the 1980s and the Conservatives were against it, but Ostashek realized the need and importance of the agreement and signed off on it. Ostashek had a good grasp of the issues of the day and knew his budget inside and out. Premier Dennis Fentie credited Ostashek for much of the territory's economic growth. He gained industry's trust and had a reputation of not changing his mind halfway through a project. When the plans for the Whitehorse General Hospital were not to his liking, he had the hospital redesigned to be more cost effective.5) When the Yukon Party lost the 1996 election to the NDP, Ostashek kept his seat and became the leader of the opposition. When the Liberals won in the 2000 election, Ostashek lost his own riding of Porter Creek North. He stepped down as leader and retired from politics but remained an outspoken critic of successive governments.6)
In November 2003, John Ostashek was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of white blood cell cancer.7)