John Edzerza (1948 – 2011)
John Edzerza was born in Lower Post, British Columbia and raised in Atlin before his family moved to Whitehorse. He was a welder by trade, and valued his Tahltan heritage. John was homeless at one point. He returned to college at age fifty to become an addictions councillor, and was elected to the Kwanlin Dün Council.1)
In 2002, Edzerza was elected as a member of the Yukon Party to the Yukon Legislative Assembly representing the McIntyre-Takhini district.2) In 2006, Edzerza felt ignored by Premier Dennis Fentie and resigned from the Yukon Party. Edzerza was the minister of Education and Justice but was taken by surprise when a former Copperbelt candidate announced plans to build a new school in Granger. His final disillusionment came when Fentie pulled funding for a new school in Burwash.3) Edzerza ran in the 2006 fall territorial election as a candidate for the Yukon New Democratic Party and was re-elected. He served in Todd Hardy’s caucus until January 2009, where he resigned to again sit as an independent. Hardy remained as the party leader after his diagnosis with leukaemia and Edzerza felt the party had lost momentum.4)
Edzerza rejoined the Yukon Party in October 2009 and took Premier Fentie’s government out of a minority position.5) In return, Edzerza gained support for the Jackson Lake Camp which opened in 2010. He also was key to the creation of the Individual Learning Centre to encourage school dropouts complete their education. He was a champion of Yukon’s most vulnerable citizens.6)