Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon is accusing the Liberals of selling out to stay in government.
“It’s clear that Sandy Silver and the Liberals did not even try to negotiate,” Dixon said at an April 29 press conference. “It’s clear that Sandy Silver and the Liberals were so desperate for power, that abandoning their principles was less of a concern for them.
“So, congratulations to the NDP for taking advantage of a weakened and desperate Liberal Party — I’m sure that the New Democratic Party members will be ecstatic with the deal.”
The Liberal-NDP deal exchanges the latter’s support in the Legislative Assembly for several NDP campaign items, like rent caps and a walk-in mental health clinic.
“Not a single thing in this agreement is costed out,” Dixon said. “We have no idea how much any of this will cost, and neither do the Liberals. So, they’ve signed on and agreed to all of this without having a clue how we’re all going to pay for it. I have concerns about that.”
Dixon also expressed concern that the deal is silent on support for business, economic recovery and mining. The leader said he wants the new government to commit to supporting the private sector.
The Yukon Party met with Silver earlier this week. Dixon said he expected a proposal to work together, and that didn’t happen. “Of course, we were disappointed by that,” he said. “We had discussions with the NDP as well … (but) we felt that we were too far apart to arrive at anything.”
Dixon accused the Liberals of “dramatically veering to the left” in the new agreement which “almost entirely adopted the NDP platform.”
Now, the Yukon Party leader said he is looking forward to returning to the Legislative Assembly. The spring sitting was dissolved by the Liberals’ election call after five sitting days on March 12, abandoning the tabled budget.
“The legislature needs to be recalled immediately,” Dixon said. “The territory needs its government to have a budget. Yukoners and Yukon businesses are looking for direction and certainty — so, the left-wing Liberal-NDP coalition needs to stop adding to this uncertainty, stop delaying, and get back to work.”
Contact Gabrielle Plonka at gabrielle.plonka@yukon-news.com