Reconvene house to discuss federal windfall: Liberals

With $175 million in federal cash available to improve the territory's infrastructure, the Yukon Liberals are demanding a special sitting of the legislature to debate where the money should be spent.

With $175 million in federal cash available to improve the territory’s infrastructure, the Yukon Liberals are demanding a special sitting of the legislature to debate where the money should be spent.

“There’s too much at stake here not to do this right,” said Liberal MLA Don Inverarity, the party’s highways and public works critic.

Last week, federal Transport Minister John Baird announced the seven-year, $33-billion Building Canada fund would be rolled out for provinces and territories as quickly as they could take advantage.

The Yukon’s share amounts to $175 million, contingent on a 25 per cent investment ($43.5 million) from the territory.

While Baird’s announcement hopes to kick-start regional infrastructure projects in a matter of “weeks, not months and years,” his territorial counterpart, Archie Lang, told the Star the Yukon government will need six months to decide.

“There’s guidelines on how it’s to be spent, and we’re going out for consultation with first nations, municipal and smaller communities,” said Lang, the Yukon’s Minister of Highways and Public Works. “Then put together an assessment of what is needed in communities by June (2009).”

But for Inverarity, that timeframe is not soon enough.

“So we’re going to wait until June. That’s a whole season of construction that is wasted. Why are we waiting until June?” he said, questioning the logic of the government.

Despite a plethora of pressing projects in the territory, from addressing a lack of housing, improving poor water quality and, in Dawson City’s case, upgrading its sewage treatment facility, Lang said consultation is required before any decisions are made.

For Inverarity, this made a special sitting of the legislature even more urgent.

“I think there’s lots of people out there looking for infrastructure,” he said. “All you have to do is drive the North Klondike Highway and there’s potholes out there that can eat cars.”

The cabinet did not respond to the Star’s request for comment on Inverarity’s proposal.

But on the forthcoming consultations, Whitehorse Mayor Bev Buckway said how the funds will be divvied, rather than which projects get the nod, remains the major hurdle.

Buckway had hoped any chunk of the millions earmarked for municipalities would be distributed similar to the formula employed to disperse windfalls from the federal gas tax.

Last week, Buckway told the Star that the federal government and “possibly the territorial government” are not on board.

“For whatever reason, it was not the preferred method,” she said. “You don’t always get what you ask for and (the federal government) didn’t seem to think it was the most favourable way.”

Both Buckway and Inverarity hope to find out more when the federal budget is announced Jan. 27.

Projects eligible for funding from Building Canada include highways, drinking water, waste water, public transit and green energy.