Yukon.

• Author: Kolody, Linda
• Position: Legislative Reports

2019 Fall Sitting

As per the provisions of Standing Order 75(10), the 2019 Fall Sitting of the Second Session of the 34th Legislative Assembly is expected to commence during the first week of October.

Bills Assented to During 2019 Spring Sitting

The 2019 Spring Sitting began on March 7 and concluded on April 30, after 30 sitting days. During the Sitting, the following government bills were assented to by Yukon Commissioner Angelique Bernard:

* Bill No. 29, Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 2019

* Bill No. 30, Act to Amend the Education Labour Relations Act

* Bill No. 31, Act to Amend the Employment Standards Act

* Bill No. 32, Act to Amend the Securities Act

* Bill No. 33, Yukon Government Carbon Price Rebate Implementation Act

* Bill No. 208, Third Appropriation Act 2018-19

* Bill No. 209, Interim Supply Appropriation Act 2019-20; and

* Bill No. 210, First Appropriation Act 2019-20 (the bill, providing for a record budget of nearly $1.5 billion, was introduced by Yukon's Premier and Finance Minister, Sandy Silver)

No private members' bills were introduced or considered during the 2019 Spring Sitting.

Report of the Auditor General

On June 18, officials from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada (OAG) presented Speaker Nils Clarke with a performance audit entitled Report of the Auditor General of Canada to the Yukon Legislative Assembly: Kindergarten Through Grade 12 Education in Yukon--Department of Education. Later that morning, the officials provided MLAs with an in camera briefing in the Chamber on the report. In the afternoon, OAG officials met with the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

The OAG's performance audit, which is posted on the Committee's webpage, concluded that "the Department of Education did not do enough to assess or address the long-standing gaps in student outcomes" and "did not do enough to deliver education programs that were inclusive and that fully reflected Yukon First Nations culture and languages."

New NDP Leader

Kate White, the MLA for Takhini-Kopper King, was formally acclaimed as the new Leader of Yukon's NDP at the party's May 4, 2019 leadership convention, held at the Kwanlin Diin Cultural Centre in Whitehorse. While Ms. White was formally endorsed by the party on that date, at the close of nominations on April 18, she was the sole declared candidate.

Ms. White was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the October 2011 general territorial election and re-elected in the November 2016...