The minority Yukon Liberal Party government’s main $2.08-billion budget passed in a 10-8 vote in the legislative assembly on May 2 with the flailing support of the Yukon NDP and against the wishes of the Yukon Party.
The Yukon NDP Leader Kate White had just been railing on the Liberals for only completing or being on track to complete 13 of 29 commitments in the territorial Liberal-NDP confidence and supply agreement, known as CASA.
“Frankly, I’m disappointed,” she told reporters in the lobby of the legislature.
A press release on May 3 announced the NDP has put the Liberals on “notice.” It demands that the premier deliver on certain outstanding CASA commitments.
White clarified by phone to the News that if Premier Ranj Pillai doesn’t follow through on these key items by the time the legislature resumes in autumn, then there’s no guarantee that CASA will continue.
“The premier knows what he has to do if he wants us to keep his government alive through the fall sitting,” White said in the release.
White told reporters she expects the government to do three (or so) things outlined in CASA before the fall: ensure financial supports for people who need to access fertility treatment and include fertility treatment in medical travel, work with partners to get a training plan program for educational assistants and teachers on call sorted out, and reform the land lottery system through a process that includes public engagement.
The record shows the Yukon NDP has voted with the Liberals and the Yukon Party on different matters. Even if it held its nose at times, it has stuck to its obligation under CASA.
From White’s perspective, the governing party isn’t holding up its end of the bargain.
White had indicated her party’s positive vote for the budget early on, given its commitment under CASA.
Pillai didn’t get ahead of himself when he spoke with reporters in the cabinet office ahead of the budget vote on the afternoon of May 2.
“You hold your breath until the votes are counted,” Pillai said.
By his count, the government is further ahead than White claims.
Pillai indicated he agrees with the items White feels need prioritization.
All three territorial party leaders with seats in the legislature took questions from reporters before the budget vote at the end of the final day of the spring sitting.
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon once again made it clear that a vote on the budget represents his party’s confidence in the government, which is a nay.
He reiterated the Official Opposition votes against every matter of confidence in the parliamentary system.
“We don’t have confidence in this government, and therefore, we won’t be voting in favour of the budget. That doesn’t mean that we oppose every single thing in the budget,” he told reporters in the lobby of the legislature.
“There are things in the budget that we support, but at the end of the day, we think that Yukoners want change, and in order for there to be change, there needs to be an election, and so the best way that we can trigger an election is to vote against the budget and vote non-confidence in the government.”
During question period, Dixon’s party often honed in on health, with the premier sometimes stepping in.
“Today when we were asking questions about a range of health issues, we saw the premier step in once again. He doesn’t do that for other ministers. He didn’t do that for the minister of Education. He doesn’t do that for the minister of Community Services. But he does it over and over again for the minister of Health and Social Services,” Dixon said.
“I think that’s because he knows he’s got an underperforming minister.”
Late this sitting, Dixon was pleased to see a motion pass that was brought forward by Patti McLeod, the Yukon Party MLA for Watson Lake, calling on the government to negotiate a new comprehensive municipal grant structure with municipalities.
White noted that the opening of a permanent walk-in clinic this week shows that her squad is making headway on key priorities like health care, housing and affordability.
For White, highlights from the sitting involve the passing of an NDP-led bill to amend the Education Act to allow for students to take more locally developed courses at school, and MLAs voting unanimously in favour of a motion to review all programs run by Connective Support Society, or Connective, to see if it’s fit to continue operating them.
As for the lows: “There was some bizarre stuff around the Health Authority Act. The Liberals just had quite a few weird mishaps this week with procedures. So, that was a little bit awkward to watch,” she said, adding peoples’ tones and patience shifted throughout the sitting.
Government house leader John Streicker even challenged a ruling by Speaker Jeremy Harper (who is also a Liberal MLA) at the end of the day prior.
“That was super inappropriate,” White said. “That is not supposed to happen in a parliamentary system.”
Pillai said the sitting was “substantial” with the passing of the “historic” Health Authority Act, which the premier and his ministers regularly leaned on.
READ MORE: Yukon minister praises partnerships as health authority law passes
He indicated that major piece of legislation took compromise and working across party lines.
“I think if the opposition members are bringing valid concerns and good advice and they’re speaking on behalf of other Yukoners, and that helps to make it more fulsome, I think that’s a good thing,” he said.
Pillai suggested the former Yukon Party government pushed through acts under a majority government with limited budget debate.
Pillai commented that MLAs spent “the longest in a very long time” debating the supplementary budget.
“I’m excited about the tools that we’ll have within this [main] budget,” he said, highlighting investments in health care and housing.
Dixon observed that, for a spring sitting that’s “ostensibly about the budget, there wasn’t a lot of talk from the government about their budget.”
“The reason for that was because they were constantly finding themselves being reactive to emerging crises that happened on an almost weekly basis, especially in the health-care field,” he said, citing orthopedic surgeries being deferred down South and nursing home attendants feeling “unsupported and disrespected” by the government.
READ MORE: Yukon’s orthopedic surgeons stop taking new patients for elective surgeries
“In response to questions that we felt were even fairly benign, the response from the government was often to attack. That’s a clear indication of a government that feels like they are unpopular and down in the polls.”
The Yukon Party commissioned a poll of 500 Yukoners contacted by a virtual call centre in Winnipeg by telephone from Jan. 10 to Jan. 22. The survey has a margin of error of 4.35 per cent. It was developed by Leger and the Yukon Party. The survey results were released a few weeks before the start of the spring sitting.
The results suggest the Liberals are trailing at 20 per cent, compared to the Yukon NDP at 35 per cent and the Yukon Party at 44 per cent in the polls.
Pillai hasn’t given much weight to those survey results.
“The Yukon Party paid for a poll, likely wrote the questions for the poll, and rolled out a poll,” Pillai said.
“I would hope, if you pay for a poll and write the questions, that the result of the poll is what you wanted.”
Contact Dana Hatherly at dana.hatherly@yukon-news.com