Yukon who is who

Douglas George “Doug” Phillips (b. 1946)

Doug Phillips was born in Toronto, Ontario and moved to Whitehorse as a child with his family in 1948. His father was a butcher at Tourist Services grocery store. Doug took private flying lessons and got his commercial licence. He worked for Tintina Air for a season, flying people back and forth to the Faro Mine. In the 1970s, he worked for White Pass in the trailer bay and left there to work as a house painter. He started his own company, with up to eight people painting houses and schools. He worked taking goats out of Kluane Lake to populate Mount White and worked with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to establish the Wolf Creek salmon release program involving children.¹⁾

In 1985, Phillips won a Progressive Conservative seat for Riverdale North in the territorial election. He won again in 1989 and in 1992 when the party had changed its name to the Yukon Party. He served for four years as Minister of Tourism under leader John Ostashek. He worked on getting Fulda to sponsor the Yukon Quest, building the Visitor Information Centre downtown, developing the Beringia Centre, and starting talks with Condor Air.²⁾ Phillips served as Minister of Education, Minister Responsible for the Women’s Directorate, Minister of Justice and Minister Responsible for the Public Service Commission.³⁾ He was in the Opposition when he retired from politics in 2000.

Doug Phillips continued to work on numerous boards and commissions. In 2004, he was on the Yukon Land Use Planning Council and was the chair in 2010.⁴⁾ Phillips served on the Central Yukon Assessment Review Board, volunteered with the Canadian Wildlife Federation, Ducks Unlimited, Yukon Fish and Game Association, and served on the Yukon Hospital Foundation. He also operated a small tourism consulting business.⁵⁾

Phillips was named Yukon Administrator and appointed to the electoral district boundaries commission in 2007.⁶⁾ Prime Minister Stephen Harper appointed Phillips as Commissioner of the Yukon in 2010. Territorial Commissioners are appointed by His Excellency the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and fulfil many of the same duties as the Lieutenant Governor of a province. They are responsible for swearing in Members of the Legislative Assembly and Members of the Executive Council, opening the Legislative Assembly and providing assent for legislation passed by the Assembly. Phillips followed Geraldine Van Bibber as Yukon’s Commissioner.⁷⁾ Phillip’s focus was to make people more aware of the role of the Yukon Commissioner. Phillips retired in 2018, after seven years in the position. One of proudest achievements was the establishment of a permanent office for Commissioner at the historic Taylor House on Main Street in Whitehorse.⁸⁾

In September 2009, Doug Phillips was adopted into the Carcross/Tagish First Nation Deisheetaan clan by Ida Calmegne.⁹⁾ In 2020, he was inducted into the Order of the Yukon for his demonstrated excellence and achievement and his outstanding contributions to the social, cultural or economic well-being of Yukon and its residents.¹⁰⁾