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Premier Sandy Silver, Stacey Hassard and Kate White

Yukon Liberals: the first one hundred days

The Yukon Party took the Yukon Liberals’ 100th day in office on March 13 as an occasion to fire a few potshots at the new government,

By Sidney Cohen on March 21, 2017

The Yukon Party took the Yukon Liberals’ 100th day in office on March 13 as an occasion to fire a few potshots at the new government, which is becoming less new by the day.

“A trend has emerged over the first 100 days of this new government where it seems they are more concerned with what’s good for Ottawa rather than what’s good for Yukon,” interim leader Stacey Hassard said in a statement last Tuesday.

“In fact, the premier (Sandy Silver) has spent more time in Ottawa than he has in his legislative assembly seat.”

Indeed, the legislative assembly has yet to convene for a full sitting of the legislature.

When it does (April 20), it will have been more than five months – the longest any government has gone between an election and a question period.

In the United States, much attention has been paid to a president’s first 100 days in office.

It’s been so ever since 1933, when president Franklin D. Roosevelt announced on the radio he would immediately enact measures to pull the country out of the Great Depression.

During Roosevelt’s first 100 days, 76 bills became law, more than in any succeeding president’s first 100 days (11 passed under president Barack Obama).

The first leg of a new government leader’s term continues to be a critical period in North American politics.

In this spirit, the Star looks back at the Liberals’ first 100 days as government of the Yukon.

Premier makes carbon price official

Less than a week after he was sworn in as premier, Silver travelled to Ottawa, where he signed a climate change deal with 10 other premiers and the prime minister that includes taxing carbon in the Yukon.

Making the carbon tax official is one of the Liberals’ greatest affronts to the Yukon Party thus far.

Former Yukon Party premier Darrell Pasloski was adamantly opposed to a carbon tax in the Yukon. He said it would make everything shipped north by road or air more expensive.

All revenues from the Yukon carbon tax will stay in the territory, promised Silver, and be returned to residents and businesses through rebates. Details of the plan have yet to be released.

Silver attends first Yukon Forum

On Jan. 13, Silver met with Yukon First Nations chiefs at his first Yukon Forum as premier.

Silver promised to hold Yukon Forums four times a year during the campaign, or as often as the chiefs desired. At January’s forum, all in attendance committed to the quarterly meetings.

They also agreed to have a five-year action plan with specified priorities by the next forum.

The tone was markedly different from Yukon Forums past, Chief Doris Bill of the Kwanlin Dun First Nation remarked afterward.

“I heard people as they were leaving the room, they felt excited,” she said.

Silver also promised to meet with all Yukon First Nation chiefs during his first 30 days in office.

The premier did meet with 12 of the Yukon’s 14 First Nations chiefs in the first month. He met with Chief Bruce Charlie of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation on Jan. 13, after the Yukon Forum, and with Chief Kristina Kane of Ta’an Kwäch’än Council on Feb. 13.

The next Yukon Forum is scheduled for April 21.

Territories sign health deal with Ottawa

After a brief holdout, each of the territories signed a bilateral health agreement with Ottawa on Jan. 16. The provinces and territories were peeved that the federal government wasn’t budging on a Stephen Harper-era plan to reduce the annual increase in health transfer payments.

Previously, federal funding for health care to the provinces and territories increased by six per cent per year. Starting next month, the payments will go up by three per cent annually, or according to nominal GDP growth, whichever is higher.

The Yukon was also promised $5.2 million for mental health initiatives and $6.2 million for home care over the next 10 years. (To put these numbers in perspective, the Yukon’s home care budget in 2016-17 was $6 million.)

The Yukon signed its health deal with Ottawa after most of the Atlantic provinces and Saskatchewan signed bilateral health agreements.

The NDP called out the Liberals for breaking rank with the big provinces after Silver said he’d stand by “for unity’s sake.”

“The territories, we get lumped together, and we get kind of bullied into saying yes to things,” said NDP MLA Kate White on Jan. 19.

“Without saying yes to things, would we have gotten less? Maybe, but maybe not.”

Government finances take a tumble

In late January, Silver announced a special warrant approving $29.4 million in additional spending to keep the government operating until the 2017-18 budget drops.

At the same time, it’s revealed that, contrary to the 2016-17 territorial budget, which projected a $9.5-million surplus, the Yukon is actually running an $8-million deficit.

The Liberal and Yukon Parties pointed fingers at each other.

The Liberals said they inherited the deficit from the previous government, and the Yukon Party said that when the election was called in October 2016, it was still forecasting a surplus, though a smaller one than what was initially estimated.

Education Department unveils new curriculum

On Jan. 23, the Liberals announced a revamped Kindergarten-to-Grade-12 curriculum based on British Columbia’s.

The new curriculum includes more hands-on and experiential learning opportunities, as well as the integration of “First Nations ways of knowing and doing” into all grades, said Education Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee.

At an information session on Jan. 24, some parents expressed concern about whether the new curriculum will adequately prepare their children for university.

Education officials said the goal of the new curriculum was to keep kids at risk of dropping out in school longer, and to make all students better learners.

Territorial health centres begin distributing free naloxone kits

In response to Canada’s worsening fentanyl crisis, the Yukon’s Department of Health and Social Services announced that take-home naloxone kits will be available for free at clinics and pharmacies across the territory starting in February.

The injectable Naloxone temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

In 2016, there were four confirmed fentanyl-related deaths in the Yukon, and a fifth death that is suspected to have been connected to the drug.

Fentanyl is believed to be 100 times more potent than heroin.

Liberals clean house in government-appointed boards

In early February, the Yukon Party asked the Liberals to explain themselves after five members of the Yukon Housing Corp., including the chair, were dismissed before replacements were confirmed.

Housing corporation board members are appointed by the premier, and most of their terms were up between Jan. 31 and Feb. 16. Still, it appeared at the time that at least one member was let go prematurely.

Wade Istchenko, the Yukon Party’s housing critic, lashed out at the Liberals for leaving the board “without a chair and without enough members to operate.”

“When we were in government for 14 years, we never fired an entire board of directors in one sweep, like the government’s just done,” said Istchenko on Feb. 4.

After more than a decade of the Yukon Hospital Corp., then chair Craig Tuton is replaced by Brian Gillen on March 1.

Tuton, who was appointed by then-Yukon Party premier Dennis Fentie, was active in territorial politics. He ran campaigns for Fentie and Pasloski in 2008, when he ran for the Conservatives in the federal election.

Gillen is a former federal bureaucrat who described himself as “totally apolitical.”

Comments (27)

Up 2 Down 1

westofbelfast on Mar 27, 2017 at 8:41 am

@ Dave: Oh ya? Well my family used to live in a shoebox on the side of the road, and then we lived in the bottom of a lake.

Up 3 Down 2

Salar on Mar 26, 2017 at 10:01 pm

Yukoners it's 1960ish!.......not!....but I do wish it was....no politics then and we would have all been Yukoners.

Up 6 Down 2

north_of_60 on Mar 26, 2017 at 5:57 pm

@mah byng "people are dying without the provided naloxone kits."

Unlike anaphylactic shock, it's willfully self-inflicted. Giving them a 'get-out-of-jail-free-card' is only going to increase drug abuse. If people want to find the one sure cure for stupidity, why should we stop them? It's not like these are highly productive citizens whose contributions to society will be sorely missed.

Up 7 Down 6

Mah Byng on Mar 25, 2017 at 6:52 pm

@Ms June Jackson. Firstly, I never asked how old you were and I don't care if your as old as Mathusala. Secondly people are dying without the provided naloxone kits. I have never heard of anyone dying in the Yukon because of anaphylactic shock, so it's not even in the same ranking.
The NDP should stop looking for a free handout at every turn of the page.

Up 13 Down 8

The Book Of Yukoner on Mar 25, 2017 at 5:47 pm

A Yukoner is someone who doesn't just give you a blank stare and can either recall or has family that remember at least some of the following:
When Pan Am and then CPAir flew into Whitehorse...Nelsons Hardware, the best hardware store ever...Food Fair in the Horwoods Mall...Woolco or at least The Bay...Taylor Chev-Olds... The Whitehorse Inn...DPW...The White Pass Green & Yellow trucks everywhere...Before there even was a South Access (Robert Service Way to you newbies) road... The gravel highways everywhere... The classic A&W drive in roughly where 4th Avenue Petro Can is now... Yukon windshields (less than 10 rock holes didn't even matter just look around 'em)...Working for the army...The bridge to Riverdale was built...Taking the train was the only way to get to Skagway...Running your own generator if you lived outside of a community and wanted electricity...No one locking their doors, ever... When walking down Main Street meant you were going to know most everyone you saw on the street...
It wasn't that long ago and we were just fine without Starbucks or satellite TV!

Up 9 Down 8

Dave on Mar 25, 2017 at 4:40 pm

Salar, so you've been here 15 entire years? I'm pretty impressed as that means you basically got here yesterday, and you're not going to find a 'manual'. I can tell you what was going on here in the 60's, 70's and 80's when you had to bounce up a dirty, dusty road to get here. Back when surviving here for a lot of people meant wood heat, water from a lake, and kerosene lanterns for light. Long before everyone started stepping off a jet, heading straight for the nearest Starbucks and turning into an instant Yukoner living in a condo in Vancouver north, formerly known as Whitehorse.
Pierre Cardin I don't see anyone in any pictures dressed slovenly, if you want a suit and tie go to Ottawa , Toronto, or Vancouver not Yukon. If anyone is exhibiting a lack of decorum it is you criticizing someone based on how you think they should appear. I know both the people you referenced and I'll dare say they have a lot more class than you displayed with your comment.

Up 9 Down 14

Salar on Mar 25, 2017 at 10:28 am

Dave,
I love your reference to 'real' Yukoners.

After being here 15 years and working in many job sectors, both private and all different govs, I haven't seen the 'manual' or gotten the 'memo' or been invited to the 'club' of 'real' Yukoners.
Folks like you and others in these threads profess to know 'real' yukoners where that knowledge eludes others, who live in the Yukon.
Dressing to at least appear professional when you have been elected and are being paid 6 figures is just common Canadian parliamentary behaviour.....smacks of good values and work ethic, all that. Stacy and his opponent should at least try in this regard.
I mean when you look at the all the rendezvous garb folks tout to be so Yukon it's not like there hasn't been an attempt at dressing sophisticated in the Yukon in the past....but I'm not sure if that is really Yukon.

Up 6 Down 6

yukon56 on Mar 24, 2017 at 10:42 pm

So sick of the posturing in such a small community

Up 7 Down 4

yukon5 on Mar 24, 2017 at 10:31 pm

Elise Kneipe - Give them a chance what do expect instant reform?

Up 8 Down 5

June Jackson on Mar 24, 2017 at 7:56 pm

To: Mah Byng...what did I say that encouraged you to think I do without an epi pen? I said it was not covered under chronic..I said my life mattered..as a senior...I said my pensions don't cover it..do you know what an epi pen is? It is an injector to stop anafalactic shock from killing you..it's for life threatening allergies..allergies are of course not limited to seniors..everyone who has extreme reaction needs to have an epi pen on them...if junkies and street druggist get free naloxone to save their life..why can't allergic children, allergic adults and me..why can't we have a free one? Not that it's any of your business..but..closer to 80 than 70.. I went back to work..I pay for my pen.

Up 12 Down 5

drum on Mar 24, 2017 at 6:26 pm

I may be accused of being stupid - but I think that our new Premier realized that his people were all green and has taken this time to train and educate them on everything to do with being a government. That would include giving his new Ministers of Departments time to get to know their portfolios and actually know what they are in charge of. I hope this is what has been happening!!!

Up 8 Down 1

Just Say'in on Mar 24, 2017 at 5:49 pm

@Iceberg. Well I think it is a Dept of Education, however from this point on it is up to the Liberals. "The Buck Stops Here."

Up 10 Down 7

Pierre Cardin on Mar 24, 2017 at 4:42 pm

Hey Dave,
If a political figure such as the leader of the official opposition dresses scruffy and slovenly then that's the kind of job you can expect that individual to do. That's exactly what we got from former Minister Hazzard with the one million dollar plus contract award and the hanging up on the press when the questions were hitting a little too close to home. A certain decorum is expected from public officials as they are not running a garage sale. What kind of inside stuff was that you were speaking of?

Up 17 Down 5

iceberg on Mar 23, 2017 at 5:48 pm

The Dept. of Education's new curriculum is not a liberal initiative no matter how many people would like it to be. This was and is a Yukon Party initiative and it is YP that we can thank for it just as the DM of Education Arnold was brought here from BC under a YP gov't. Even when we got rid of her, Yukon Party's very own Doug Graham brought her back a second time to the shock and horror of any that knew even a little bit about education in the Yukon. However, the buck does stop with the liberals in that they have not made significant changes in that dysfunctional Dept.

Up 27 Down 13

Miss Informed on Mar 23, 2017 at 5:00 pm

How is it possible they can wait over 5 months before going back to the house?? All fluff and no action, like their hero in Ottawa.

Up 22 Down 8

Dave on Mar 23, 2017 at 4:42 pm

Hey Pierre Cardin, in this territory real Yukoners don't judge people based on what they wear, we're more about individuals and what's on the inside that matters. Usually it's the snake oil salesmen that are all slicked up and dressed to the nines anyways, however you feel free to keep putting people down based on what they wear if that's what makes you feel all important.

Up 16 Down 18

Pierre Cardin on Mar 23, 2017 at 7:29 am

Do the two non-governing parties need a greater clothing allowance or are they just spend thrifts? The Sally Ann is having a closing out sale.

Up 19 Down 14

Hassard had no idea what he was doing when he was a minister on Mar 22, 2017 at 7:01 pm

Can anyone believe what he says?

Up 8 Down 11

Mah Byng on Mar 22, 2017 at 6:16 pm

June, you have done without an epi-pen these many years and now you feel you require one. People have serious needs out there. Shame.

Up 20 Down 9

Nile on Mar 22, 2017 at 1:47 pm

@Elise I don't think this is the Yukon Party's education plan. I think it is the Department of Educations plan. It's way to fluffy and full of snowflake feelings to be a YP plan. The department thought they could shove this out before the Libs really knew what was going on. As much as I would love to blame the Libs I can't.

Up 21 Down 26

westofbelfast on Mar 22, 2017 at 9:08 am

The Liberals will need more time than that Mr. Hassard to even begin to clean up the mess that the Yukon Party left...including trips to Ottawa to take part in the Peel case. Remember that one or did you forget about ignoring the process for several years and then trying to bushwhack Yukoners with your BS plan?

Up 23 Down 11

Elise Kneipe on Mar 22, 2017 at 7:14 am

A few points:
First, the Liberals took office on December 3, so in meeting First Nations on January 13, the Liberals failed to meet their commitment do so within 30 days.
Second, you can hardly say that the Liberals 'cleaned house' at the Housing Corporation. They promoted its chair to Silver's senior advisor. It makes you wonder if there were any personal issues the chair had with the board, because not all of them were actually let go. Nice to see Tuton go though.
Third, there is no mention of the Liberal decision to continue with the Peel Watershed lawsuit. That decision is pretty unpopular and the party has done little to justify that decision.
Fourth, where is the moratorium on fracking? 100 days in office and there's still no official word on fracking, just Silver's 'word' that it won't happen. Ok...
Fifth, concerns about the education curriculum aside, if it was announced on January 23, it is very clearly not the Liberals that designed or developed the new curriculum, but the Yukon Party. The Liberals don't get credit for this, but if it turns out to be terrible, in some ways they won't be to blame (unless they don't fix it).

Finally, both opposition parties are right that there's been too much time in Ottawa. The results seem to be a modest status quo. I'm not sure what the utility has been to hold ground as a 'show of unity', if one actually expected to buckle for a meager side deal on health care.
It would be nice to see a higher standard of reporting from the Whitehorse Star.

Up 12 Down 18

Hassard wants to join the liberals on Mar 22, 2017 at 6:59 am

and wants be in government again.

Up 20 Down 17

June Jackson on Mar 21, 2017 at 7:54 pm

However the Liberals are doing, Paslowski had to go. They have this one opportunity to get it right locally. (just a side note..but can I please have a free Epi pen? My pensions don't cover it and Chronic doesn't either.. a senior life matters? or, I am at least as important as the junkies and drug abusers getting free Naloxone)? Federally, the Liberal leadership is all but over.

That being said, federally? Trudeau has turned out to be the poorest leader since his father. "Trudeau’s dream of a $20 billion loan has morphed into a $1.5 trillion nightmare for young Canadians.

To add insult to injury, the Trudeau government is (has) implementing the largest tax increase in a generation, through the all-economic-pain, no-environmental-gain carbon tax. (We also got a 15% federal and a 15% territorial personal income tax hike..)
And it’s a nightmare they won’t be able to wake up from for decades to come."

That quote comes from http://www.torontosun.com/2017/01/04/trudeau-will-bury-us-in-debt

I'm watching Sandy's government..I would hope he turns out to be a decent human being and not a Trudeau toady.

Up 20 Down 17

Scorpio on Mar 21, 2017 at 5:47 pm

I am thinking of the song "Winds of Change" by 'The Scorpions'.
WTG Liberals a fantastic job to date, however I don't agree with the changes to the Education curriculum. How yah gonna know what you have to teach them if don't test to see what they've absorbed. This is just plain common sense.

Up 9 Down 15

Nothing here on Mar 21, 2017 at 4:10 pm

by any party. The polls show voters want none of the above as their first pick. Hassard a leader of what?

Up 45 Down 18

Silver For Schoolteacher on Mar 21, 2017 at 4:04 pm

Liberals first 100 days gets an F from me. The Nova Scotian schoolteacher we now have for a government leader is doing his best to give away the farm and assist the federal Liberals in their tax and spend ways. Unless you're a member of a special interest group the Liberals are doing nothing for you. I really doubt Silver cares what he fouls up during his time in office anyways as he'll probably head back to Nova Scotia at some point and leave Yukoners cleaning up his mess for generations to come.
And just exactly where is our federal Liberal hero Trudeau anyways? Since getting elected 18 months ago he's spent more time in the Caribbean than he has in northern Canada. I don't believe he's come to Yukon once since being elected so yeah, he sure cares about the north doesn't he?

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