Wanna know what the 19 Yukoners you elected last October are up to?
Don’t tell anyone, but they’re returning to their seats in the legislature this week.
We only know because a few weeks back the government sent out a brief news release.
And there was the tiny Notice of Sitting ad buried in the classifieds last Friday.
“Take notice that pursuant to Standing Order 73 of the Yukon Legislative Assembly and being satisfied pursuant to the said Standing Order that the public interest requires that the House shall meet, I appoint 1 p.m. Thursday, March 15, 2012, as the time for such meeting in the Yukon Legislative Assembly, Whitehorse, Yukon, for the purpose of transacting its business as if it had been duly adjourned to that time. Dated this 29th of February.”
Not exactly full-court press from a 2012 publicity machine.
Just in case you were after a few more details, but were afraid to ask, here’s a little more info.
The said assembly meets in a lofty chamber in the Yukon government’s main administration building on Second Avenue. Go through the main doors and hang a right.
This sitting is at least 20 days long - every Monday to Thursday (except Easter) from 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
When it kicks off Thursday, the 19 MLAs will take their cushy seats for a little routine business and a short bicker and dicker before the main act gets underway - the delivery of Premier Darrell Pasloski’s first-ever budget.
The public is welcome to watch this daily spectacle unfold from the gallery’s pew-like benches. Providing they don’t make a peep.
Or they can listen to the proceedings, as they’re called, from the comfort of their home, car or office.
Tune in on FM cable at 93.1 or off-air at 93.5 in the Whitehorse area or, if farther afield, listen via the Internet to the livestream or the archives at www.legassembly.gov.yk.ca/coverage.html.
Question period is also videotaped. It’s posted online and broadcast on Northwestel Cable at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. the following day.
True beggars for punishment can also peruse the written transcript of the daily proceedings.
The first draft, affectionately known as the Blues, is posted on the legislative website the same day it happens. The final version, known as Hansard, is put up the following day.
For those who still prefer the smell of ink and the feel of paper, hard copies are also available.
Really, all that’s missing in this mix is Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, and that’s probably just a matter of time.
Meanwhile, the assembly may want to step up its promotion just a touch.
Dressing up the legislative pages as medieval town criers to spread the news might be a first step.
Hear ye! Hear ye! Yukon MLAs to gather on the Ides of March.