James Smith (1919 – 2017)
Jim Smith was born in New Westminster, British Columbia and the family moved to Burnaby when he was a year old. He moved to Whitehorse in 1947 after working and living in Atlin, managing a store and a meat cutting business. He and wife Dorothy met and were married in Atlin in 1942. Smith became the General Manager for Tourist Services in Whitehorse. The business was owned by Jack Elliot, Ed Barker, Irvin Ray, and Wardie Forrest. The partners wanted to run an auto court, but Smith convinced them that would be seasonal, and a grocery would be busy year-round. The store generated money from day one and became a big operation. In 1954, Bruce Sung who had leased the Tourist Services restaurant and operated as Columbia Caterers, bought out the partners and kept Smith as the general manager. 1)
Smith was very active in the Whitehorse community. He was president of the Board of Trade for several years, he ran for City Council with the support of his company, and then ran for the Territorial Council. Smith’s company wanted their employees to have a high profile in the community to offset the influence of the older companies: Taylor and Drury, the Northern Commercial Company, and White Pass. Five Yukon councillors were elected in 1958: John Livesey (Carmacks-Kluane), Ray McKamey (Mayo), George Shaw (Dawson), Charlie Taylor (Whitehorse East), and Jim Smith for Whitehorse West. They met twice a year for a budget session and to pass legislation, and Commissioner Collins would drop into Smith’s business office to discuss political affairs. The biggest question of the day was where and how to build a separate school. The existing Catholic schools were purchased by the government and the programs were run by the Church. New schools were to be built where the population warranted them. Smith was also involved in a discussion on where the military wanted to build their own school. Smith proposed that the military give the territory the land so they could construct the building and supply the teachers. That was the way it was done, and the military’s children attended the school with the rest of the Whitehorse children. Smith was on the Council when Central Mortgage and Housing presented the plans for surveying Riverdale as a subdivision. Fred Collins had the idea of a bridge across the Yukon River and 120 lots developed, and he pushed hard to get it done. Smith did not run in the 1961 territorial elections as he was busy with Tourist Services. 2)
Smith accepted the position of Yukon Commissioner in October 1966, and he had to leave the Sung corporation to fill the job. Smith reflected that if he had known the effect it would have on the family, he might not have taken the position. Reports by the local news media and radio station were hard on his wife and children. There was never a day without some social activity. Smith was instrumental in getting an Executive Committee established, understanding that this would form the nucleus of a future Cabinet. Smith reflected that one of his big successes was the establishment of a subcommittee of the Advisory Committee on Northern Affairs, where heads of departments met to hear what other departments were planning. He also encouraged the establishment of local improvement districts to get local people involved, and he helped establish an organization of municipalities. He streamlined a new Advisory Committee on Finance to speed up the budget consultation with the Council. The new Budget Programming Committee was three elected members with the Assistant Commissioners who reviewed the budget line by line with the department heads, and then made recommendations to the Commissioner. In 1969 one Councillor was able to sit on the Executive Committee, and Smith upped the number to two councillors: Hilda Watson presented general legislation to the Council and Norm Chamberlist did the budget. 3)
Yukon needed major infrastructure development to support the proposed mining projects in the late 1960s. The Skagway-Carcross Road had been discussed since the early 1900s but the money fell short of completing the road to the BC border until Arthur Laing became the federal Minister of Public Works. The B.C. premier met with Smith and Bill Egan, the Alaska Governor of the time, and permission was given to build the road through the province. Construction on the road began in 1973. Smith supported the process of guiding the Yukon Council toward constitutional development, and there was a comprehensive paper on next steps by 1973. It went to the federal Cabinet but was not generally approved, although one more elected member was allowed on the Executive Committee. The construction of a new Yukon Administration Building happened during Smith’s term as he was determined to get most of the territorial government officials in one location. 4)
Smith resigned as Commissioner in the spring of 1976 and became the chairman of Northern Canada Power Commission (NCPC). He did both jobs for three years as the Legislative Assembly worked to choose the next Yukon Commissioner. Smith retired from NCPC in 1986. 5) In 1988, Smith was elected to chair the Yukon Foundation, an organization that administers scholarships and other funds. He replaced Rolf Hougen who had headed the organization since its inception in 1980. 6)
James Smith was instrumental in creating Kluane National Park, and the designation of the Chilkoot Trail as a National Historic Site. He was a joint founder of the Arctic Winter Games with NWT commissioner Stuart Hodgson and Alaska governor Joseph Hickel. 7) He was made an officer of the Order of Canada in 1976. Jim Smith received the Yukon Historical and Museums Association’s 1990 Yukon Heritage Award to honour his endeavours in establishing the Yukon Archives and his contributions to preserving Yukon heritage. 8)