Future of shuttered Whitehorse movie theatres remain up in the air

Whitehorse's two movie theatres will remain closed at least for the foreseeable future.

Landmark Cinemas, which owns the theatres, wrote in a statement to CBC that it is"not able to confirm an opening timeline" for them.

Asked about whether its possible that they will close permanently, the spokesperson also wrote that they could not comment on any future plans.

The theatres shut down early in the pandemic and have remained closed ever since.

The long-term closures stand in contrast to other theatres elsewhere in the North.

In Yellowknife, the movie theatre reopened in mid-August of last year, as did a theatre in Hay River, N.W.T.

According to the government of Yukon's COVID-19 regulations, movie theatres are counted as an indoor public space, and masks are required to be worn.

Yukon government spokesperson Patricia Living told CBC that she didn't think the movie theatres had been advised to shut down at any point in the pandemic and pointed out that other, similar venues have stayed open.

"The Yukon Arts Centre has hosted events, with proper distancing, masking and no food/drink," she wrote in an email.