Citing lack of transparency, Yukon Party pitches changes to territory's emergency act

For months, Yukon's opposition parties have called without success for the Liberal government to reconvene the Legislative Assembly.

The Yukon Party and NDPboth want to scrutinize the $40 million in emergency spending the government says it has rolled out in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as more than two dozen ministerial orders issued under the territory's Civil Emergency Measures Act (CEMA).

On Wednesday, the Yukon Party said it would amend CEMA that would require the legislature to approve extensions of states of emergency. The party's proposed changes would also give the assembly the power to review ministerial orders and orders-in-council issued under CEMA.

Leader Currie Dixon said the way the act is written makes it more tailored to short-term emergencies like wildfires or floods than to a months-long pandemic.

"In these extended emergencies where we are under a state of emergency for months and months and months, I think it's reasonable that the government be subject to some sort of democratic accountability and some sort of scrutiny," he said.

Measures can be debated during fall session:premier

Despite the fact that most other jurisdictions in Canada have reconvened their legislatures in one way or another to approve COVID-19 measures, Yukon Premier Sandy Silver maintains that isn't necessary in Yukon, with another legislative session set to begin Oct. 1.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Silver said he's "very interested in what the opposition has to say" when the assembly resumes in October.

"Our government has been working tirelessly all summer," he said. "In fact, we've been in here day in and day out since March."

Silver suggested the Yukon Party could introduce CEMA changes as private member's business in the House. Private member's bills, particularly from opposition parties, rarely become law.

In a news release, the Yukon Party said it would make the changes if it forms government, a reminder that pre-election jockeying is already underway.

The next territorial election in Yukon must be held by November2021.