Yukon.

• Author: McCormick, Floyd
• Position: Legislative Reports

The 2003 Spring Sitting of the Yukon Legislative Assembly began on February 27 and ended on May 1. This sitting opened the First Session of the 31st wholly elected Yukon Legislature and was the first appearance in the Assembly for the Yukon Party government elected on November 4, 2002.

The first order of business on February 27 was the election of the Speaker. Premier Dennis Fentie (Watson Lake, Yukon Party) moved that Ted Staffen (Riverdale North, Yukon Party) be elected Speaker. The motion was adopted. Once the Speaker had been elected Commissioner Jack Cable entered the chamber to deliver the Speech from the Throne. Following the Speech from the Throne, and before the Speaker called the House to order for the conduct of its regular business, former Speaker Sam Johnston (1985-1992) offered the prayer and a few words, in English and Tlingit.

On March 3 the Assembly elected its other presiding officers. Patrick Rouble (Southern Lakes, Yukon Party) was elected Deputy Speaker and Chair of Committee of the Whole. Dean Hassard (Pelly-Nisutlin, Yukon Party) was elected Deputy Chair of Committee of the Whole. March 3 also marked the first of three days of debate on the Address in Reply to the Speech from the Throne.

On March 6 Premier Fentie gave his first budget speech. The appropriation called for in Bill No 4, First Appropriation Act, 2003-04, totalled $555.434 million, the third largest budget in the Yukon's history.

Legislation and Devolution

Standing Order 74 requires the government "introduce all legislation, including Appropriation Bills, to be dealt with during that Sitting by the fifth sitting day." The government fulfilled this requirement, introducing 18 bills by March 6. With all legislation tabled house leaders then had two sitting days to negotiate the length of the Sitting. On March 11 Peter Jenkins (Klondike, Yukon Party), the government house leader, announced to the Assembly that the house leaders had agreed that the sitting would last sit 36 days, the final sitting day being May 1.

On March 20, 2003 Commissioner Cable granted assent to six bills. The Interim Supply Appropriation Act, 2003-04 provided the government with $221.957 million to cover operating costs for April and May.

The granting of assent to the five other bills--the Placer Mining Act; the Quartz Mining Act; the Territorial Lands (Yukon) Act; the Waters Act; and the Environmental Assessment Act--was particularly significant. Since 1996 the Yukon Government and...