Yukoner Tim Koepke is to become the Yukon’s next ombudsman and information and privacy commissioner.
An all-party subcommittee announced on Friday it would recommend his appointment to the role.
Koepke is a respected land-claims negotiator. He was involved in the settlement of 11 completed agreements in the territory.
He has lived in Whitehorse for 42 years and has sat on the boards of Yukon corporations, professional associations and service groups. The subcommittee picked Koepke from a total of 16 applications received for the job.
The ombudsman is expected to ferret out unfairness in government. The information and privacy commissioner investigates complaints respecting the Yukon’s access-to-information laws.
Collectively, the two roles are considered a half-time job. The current ombudsman and information and privacy commissioner, Tracy-Anne McPhee, has long called for the job to become a full-time position.
“They have refused,” McPhee wrote in her final report, released last week. “Keeping the ombudsman and IPC positions as one half-time position will continue to limit their effectiveness.”
Koepke’s appointment is expected to be debated during the spring legislative sitting that’s underway. He would serve a five-year term.
McPhee’s term ends on April 8.