Yukon Legislative Assembly resumes with the largest government caucus in territory’s history

The 36th yukon river Legislative gathering begins mon in Whitehorse, simply ii weeks after the new government was sworn in. 

And the Yukon Party will get to work with the territory's largest government caucus to date.

The Yukon Party won 14 of the legislature’s 21 seats in last month's election. The win also marked a return to power for the party, after nine years as the Official Opposition under a Liberal government. 

Meanwhile, the NDP, which doubled its seat count from three to six in the November’s election, now stand as the Official Opposition. The Liberals will have one MLA — Debra-Leigh Reti of Vuntut Gwitchin — representing the party. 

The Yukon Party secured a majority by promising change, and it now appears intent on following through. 

With only a few weeks left before the end of the year, the new government is squeezing in its first legislative session with a packed agenda. 

The introduction, and passing of a supplementary budget will be agenda items to watch closely.

“The unfortunate reality is our public finances are in a terrible state and we needed to receive some budget authority,” Dixon said. 

“The government ran out of money and we need to address the spending pressures that exist there.” 

The previous Liberal government issued in August a special warrant — a process that allows it to bypass the parliamentary approval process —  to authorize up to $31.7 million in additional government spending. 

At the time, the government said the money was needed to continue the Yukon’s wildfire response and recovery efforts, and to support new investments in health care among other things. 

“That money needs to be accounted for,” Dixon said. 

Special warrants were fairly common under the previous territorial government. The Yukon Party, however, often criticized the Liberals for bypassing MLAs and approving additional government spending. 

Dixon previously expressed concerns about how extra funding was being allocated and where it was coming from. More transparency over legislative processes became a central part of his platform. 

“If we were not to go back into (the) legislature, we would have to do another special warrant,” he said. 

“And that's just not acceptable from our perspective.”

MLAs will need to debate and vote on the supplementary budget. NDP Leader Kate White said it will be interesting to see what direction the Yukon Party is taking and what’s new. 

“It will be challenging, because it’s not a lot of time and there won't be, I don't think, full briefings on all departments,” White said. 

The fall sitting will also include a speech from the throne delivered by Commissioner Adeline Webber, which is expected to outline the government’s priorities. 

The Yukon Party already hinted at several priorities, from addressing the housing crisis by making more land accessible for development, to completely revamping the health-care system, to refocusing the economy on the private sector. 

White said she expects the speech to also point fingers.  

“I really anticipate that I will hear the term ‘Liberal-NDP coalition’ because that’s been a favourite refrain of the Yukon Party,” she said, referring to the previous government.

“I'm interested to see, for example, if the speech … is really an indication of what they anticipate, what their goals are for the next four years. Or if it will be more looking back and blaming the Liberals.” 

The sitting will also see the election of the 27th Speaker. 

Premier Currie Dixon announced at the end of November that he will nominate Whistle Bend North MLA Yvonne Clarke. If elected, Clark would likely become the first Filipino Speaker in Canadian history. 

The duration of the fall sitting will be determined by the House leaders of the three parties. 

Virginie Ann is a reporter and video producer based in Whitehorse. She has previously worked in Montreal with The Canadian Press and in Kanesatake with the Indigenous-led newspaper The Eastern Door. Reach her at virginie.ann@cbc.ca

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