Members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly will return to the House early next month with a new premier and an extended Liberal-NDP confidence and supply deal.
Premier Ranj Pillai has officially advised Speaker Jeremy Harper that the spring sitting will begin at 1 p.m. on March 2.
“Our team is looking forward to returning to the #Yukon Legislative Assembly,” Pillai said in a tweet on Feb. 15.
The fall sitting wrapped up with questions outstanding on the premiership and the confidence and supply agreement between the Yukon Liberal Party and Yukon NDP caucuses.
Sandy Silver announced he was stepping down as premier during a press conference in the cabinet office on Sept. 9. The Liberals had been preparing for a leadership convention to find a new leader to replace Silver at the helm, but the race was uncontested.
Pillai was acclaimed as leader by the Liberal party executive on Jan. 8 and later sworn in as premier. He will lead the territory into the spring sitting.
The confidence deal originally signed in 2021 was set to expire on Jan. 31. On that day, Pillai and Yukon NDP Leader Kate White held a joint press conference to announce they had agreed to extend the deal through the 2025-26 territorial budget or until an election is called.
The agreement sets the terms which the NDP caucus will provide confidence in and vote in support of a Liberal minority government. Its extension brought a slew of promises for the Yukon government to fulfill, including a walk-in clinic, a ban on evictions without cause and fare-free public transit.
The Yukon government previously promised a walk-in clinic as part of the original deal, but those plans fell apart. Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon said the no-cause eviction ban will send property owners “running for the hills” while City of Whitehorse Mayor Laura Cabott said the city wasn’t consulted. She said no charge to ride the bus is “a long way out.”
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com