Yukon who is who

Brian Booth (1937 – 1990)

Brian Booth was a key player in the development of the Yukon Worker’s Compensation Board.¹⁾ The Board was established in 1973. Executive Secretary Brian Booth was appointed to the Yukon Workmen’s Compensation Board (WCB) in October 1979. He reported to the Yukon deputy minister of Justice. Effective 1 January 1983, Booth was appointed chair of the WCB for a five-year term. The Board was reduced to three people and the chair became a full-time position. The Chair also became the Chief Executive Officer of the Board and an employee of the Yukon government. In January 1984, Booth became the Deputy Minister of Worker’s Compensation. In 1985, Board independence continued to be an issue. In 1986, the Board invested time and energy in proposed amendments to the Act including public notification, employer and employee consultation, and including a merit rebate system. In June 1987, John Wright replaced Brian Booth as the board’s chair and Booth continued as the board’s executive director. The revised act was passed in April 1987. In January 1990, the Yukon’s Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act 1989 was amended, and Brian Booth became the president of the Yukon Worker’s Compensation Board.²⁾

Brian Booth was a founder of a Yukon chapter of the St. John’s Ambulance Association. He was also active with the Air Cadet League of Canada and was instrumental in establishing the cadet camp at the old Wolf Creek Juvenile Correctional Centre site. The camp and surrounding 460 acres were leased from the Yukon Government. In 1986, the road from Fireweed Drive to the cadet camp was named Booth Road after him.³⁾

In April 1990, Brian Booth was stabbed to death in his Montreal hotel room by an individual he met in a bar. His was one of fourteen murders that terrified the city’s gay community and motivated the police to better protect the community.⁴⁾