The territory's chief electoral officer is arguing that potentially not being able to meet Elections Yukon’s “operational imperatives” because of budget changes imposed by a Yukon government entity could bring risk to holding "fair, compliant and impartial" elections.
“This is introducing considerable electoral risk that we can meet, fully meet our mandate as expected by the public and as expected and as required to produce results that are credible and the results legitimate,” chief electoral officer Maxwell Harvey told the News by phone on Jan. 21.
Harvey’s concerns arise amid a budget dispute in which two independent officers of the Yukon Legislative Assembly — Annette King, the Yukon child and youth advocate, and Jason Pedlar, the Yukon ombudsman, information and privacy commissioner, and public interest disclosure commissioner — are alleging government interference in the 2025-26 budgetary process.
Harvey warns the “window of readiness is closing” for his office if an early election is called and a solution to the budget conflict isn’t found.
Harvey’s office hasn’t ruled out taking legal action, like his counterparts in the child advocate’s office and ombudsman’s office have threatened to do against the Yukon government.
But Harvey doesn't believe the government is intending to interfere.
"I think that the authority — who is the authority for the budget that goes to the legislative assembly — is something that needs to get worked out. I just think it needs more clarity and think it needs to get resolved," Harvey said.
"I think the intent is for the government to try to save money."
Harvey has written two letters to Jeremy Harper, the Yukon’s speaker and chair of the Members’ Services Board (MSB), an all-party legislative committee.
Harvey said it was important for him to communicate with the MSB because he went through the process with them to negotiate the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. With a fixed election date in November and a minority Liberal government that could fall before then, not only does Elections Yukon need to be election-ready, but the office will also have new electoral boundaries to implement, a plebiscite on electoral reform to carry out and school board elections to run this financial year.
Typically, Harvey said, the MSB would forward his office's budget to the Finance minister (Sandy Silver, in this case) for inclusion in the main budget for the Yukon Legislative Assembly to review and approve or not approve.
Late in the fall, the Management Board Secretariat, for the first time, intervened to change the budget, per Harvey. He said they reduced budget lines deemed not required to conduct elections.
“That was a big concern for us,” he said, in part to maintain Elections Yukon’s independence from government and political parties.
Harvey said it’s not just about taking away or amending where money can be spent.
“It changes capability. It changes the scope that you can go to. It sets boundaries, and it also puts a measure of control over the choices that you can make,” he said.
Harvey stressed the importance of his office being independent from government.
"That is why the statutes and the provisions and the processes are with the all-party Members’ Services Board for the legislature, as opposed to a government committee of cabinet," he said.
For that reason, Harvey supports the independence of house officers, which is an issue his counterparts in the child advocate’s office and ombudsman’s office have raised.
“Obviously, we want to not have any real or perceived influence in how we do our business,” Harvey said.
In the past, the typical budgetary process has gone on without “any kind of intervention” or adjustments to the budget, and the House would decide on it, per Harvey.
“That, obviously, was challenged with the intervention of the Members' Services Board,” Harvey said.
Harvey noted that, this time around, there is an ongoing dispute between the Members’ Services Board authority, the legislation and the Management Board (MB) that needs to be settled.
“You want us to do these plebiscites. You want us to have minority government readiness. You want us to implement new boundaries. You want us to conduct school board elections. From my perspective as an independent office, this is what I have to be able to have the tools, the support and the resources to be able to do,” he said.
If an election is called, he can’t ask for an extension or miss his deadline.
Elections Yukon will need to hire about 600 positions for the looming territorial elections, deploy the proper technology, lease the spaces, place the advertisements and other extra planning. For example, Harvey has asked for additional staff as part of a long-standing request that the MSB has supported given the office’s workload and increased mandates.
However, according to Harvey’s Dec. 11, 2024, letter to Harper, MB didn’t recommend six MSB-approved budget lines totalling $361,000, and MB reversed two of the three major approvals made by MSB.
Harvey understands the pressures on governments to cut costs and the significance of “fiscal stewardship" given his decades in the Navy and managing major projects and money.
Right now, he is concerned about his office’s ability to deliver proper elections. He suggested spending should be customized accordingly.
“You have to cut the cloth to fit the child,” he said.
Harvey is hopeful the situation will be resolved — quickly.
For Harvey, the next step involves preparing an updated readiness report.
“I'm getting ready now. I need the money now, because I need the capacity, I need the preparation, I need the workspace to be able to get ready to do our job, which the public expects us to do, and I must say that we've enjoyed the confidence and the trust of the Yukon public in the many elections we've delivered,” he said.
“We are punching above our weight in many, many ways, but right now, there's a gap that we need to get fixed.”
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com