The territorial legislature wrapped up its fall sitting yesterday, which will lead Sandy Silver’s Liberals past the two-year mark of its mandate, with the premier glowing about what he called a “very progressive session.”

That most recent sitting saw MLAs consider 10 government bills, the majority of which received first reading within the first week of the sitting in October.

They ranged from the Societies Act, Lobbyists Registration Act and Access to Information and Protection of Privacy (ATIPP) Act.

Some of the legislation looked at this sitting was in an effort to bring rules into the 21st century, the premier said.

“We heard from Yukoners about the need to modernize our laws and the legislation we brought forward this fall will help to move our society and the government towards more openness and inclusivity,” he said in a release issued late Thursday.

On a not-unrelated, also reflective note, the Premier offered some insight into the recently released public service engagement survey, done last May.

It tracks in part how each department can improve workplaces based on feedback from government workers – something perhaps fitting, given the government will head into its third full calendar year before making its way back to the legislature early next year.

“These internal reviews are exactly such, and I will take it on the chin,” Silver had said in the house earlier.

That was in reference to what the Yukon Party called a “failing grade” from his own department.

The survey shows in part that 80 per cent of respondents within the Executive Council Office (ECO) agreed in 2016 with the statement that they had confidence in the senior leadership of the department, while that number dipped down to 49 per cent as of this year.

Speaking to reporters shortly after, Silver echoed his remarks from earlier in the sitting.

“Change is hard, that’s for sure,” he said, noting that talk about finding efficiencies and “curtailing the growth of government” can be difficult to do and leave impressions on public servants.

Asked what those numbers meant, especially with him being part of the senior leadership in the department, the premier said he felt glad to have the feedback and would try his best to improve on them.

“When you have new mandate letters after 14 years of a certain government ... it takes time, it really does.”

The Yukon Party, which is currently the official Opposition, was in power for three terms lasting more than a decade before the now-governing Liberals assumed office in late 2016.

While the premier was proud of the overall progress of this sitting, opposition parties weren’t so convinced, with at least one remaining critical of what it said Yukoners are still left in the dark about.

That was the Yukon Party, whose interim leader, Stacey Hassard, continued to take aim at the government for what he saw was a taxation policy rather than an environmental one.

“I don’t think it’s fair to take money from Yukon taxpayers just on an experiment,” Hassard said Thursday.

He recalled the premier telling media in late October that “time will tell” about whether the carbon tax would majorly reduce greenhouse gases.

To Hassard, that meant the premier was on the fence about carbon pricing and its merits – despite travelling to Ottawa at least once this sitting to meet with federal counterparts about it.

“I think that’s a bit indicative of the way things are going with this government,” Hassard said, saying a lack of answers in the legislature can get frustrating for both the public and civil servants.

The last two weeks in particular were dominated by questions from the Yukon Party and the NDP about the carbon tax, with some coming almost daily.

For his part, Silver has and did reiterate much of the information already released about some exemptions and rebates while pleading for patience as he waited for Ottawa on details of how specifically the rebate mechanism would work.

“I hope so,” he said when asked if an announcement could be in the works for the holiday season. The premier also acknowledged the questions have been frequent.

“We don’t have a lot more time left,” he said, referencing the last time an announcement was made was in October.

That saw a formal release from the feds come down, saying that the Yukon would see the tax hit its territory come July 2019.

“I’m feeling the pressure absolutely.”

Hassard did note that he was happy to see some motions and bills passed unanimously, such as the Equality of Spouses Statute Law Amendment Act – which was the first to receive assent on Oct. 29.

Meanwhile, a release issued yesterday noted the legislation that elected officials passed this sitting. They include, but are not limited to:

• Societies Act to clarify process for creating, operating and governing societies in the Yukon;

• Coroners Act to clarify what the duties of the coroner are and reflect modern best practices;

• Equality of Spouses Statute Law Amendment Act to update legislation with language that is inclusive of LGBTQ2S+ Yukoners and rolls back Married Women’s Property Act;

• Lobbyist Registration Act that requires lobbyists to share their activities via a public registry; and

• ATIPP Act, with an aim to improve transparency around public decision-making while maintain privacy protection.

The sore thumb not on the list, opposition parties suggested, is the one on electoral district boundaries that was voted down by the Liberals this week.

The NDP took aim at the government’s rare move of defeating its own bill, saying it was reflective of a group heading into its third calendar year content on maintaining the “status quo.

“That’s their approach,” said NDP Leader Liz Hanson. “They’re not going to rock the boat (often), and that’s kind of unfortunate.”

Pointing to the more recent voting down, she said the government “out of the blue” put forward a bill before swiftly defeating it.

“I’m astounded at that kind of thing,” she said, noting it seems unprecedented.

“I think it’s going to not only damage their credibility but really cause them pause to ask.

“We can’t accept the recommendations of a non-partisan commission established by law, chaired by the chief justice of the territorial government?

“I’ve just got to shake my head,” she sighed.

All 10 government MLAs voted against the bill that would have in part seen an additional riding created (bringing the total to 20).

They were joined by the Yukon Party’s Brad Cathers, with the remaining Yukon Party MLAs and two NDP MLAs voting in favour of it.

The Liberals’ appointee to the commission to recommend the changes has since spoken out against the defeating of the bill, saying he is worried that it could have negative impacts by limiting rural representation in the territory, among other things.

Silver reiterated his stance on this ahead of the end-of-sitting wrap-up news conference.

“I’m going to stay with the fact that we think we did the right thing,” he said. The commissioner’s interim report from November 2017 didn’t make mention of an additional riding, something that did come up in its final April 2018 report, he noted.

“It seems to me, from the interim report, there was a box of ideas, and in the end, the raft came out with stuff in there that was outside of that box.

“We didn’t want to go in and cherry-pick individual pieces,” he explained, leaving just two options for the party: either vote down entirely or accept everything.

“And we believed most Yukoners didn’t want to see a 20th riding,” he said, calling it a “massive change that really was not at the heart and soul of the consultation.”

Asked what he made of the government’s own appointee blasting the decision to defeat the bill, Silver simply said, “Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.”

For her part, Hanson did note that she was pleased to see the lobbyist legislation push through after tabling a private member’s bill in 2014.

“That’s (after) a long history of the NDP trying to get lobbying legislation in place,” the leader smiled.

The Yukon was one of the last jurisdictions in the country to adopt rules around lobbying, joining the other two territories and Prince Edward Island.

Meanwhile, Hanson announced Wednesday earlier that she would be stepping down as leader of her party, but remain on until a successor is chosen and as the MLA for Whitehorse-Centre.

The other NDPer, Takhini-Kopper King’s Kate White, told the Star Thursday she has not yet decided either way to throw her hat into the ring.

The fall sitting, which began Oct. 1, also saw a number of witnesses appear before the assembly. Among them were officials from the Yukon Hospital Corp. and the territory’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, along with an investigator hired to do an inspection of the Whitehorse Correctional Centre.

Among the things to look forward to come next year and the off-season are details of the territory’s comprehensive health review set to wrap up in the fall of 2019, the Ottawa-imposed carbon tax and the appointment of Hanson’s successor.

Also: the government issued a release around 3:30 p.m. Thursday indicating that key legislation would pass as the sitting wrapped up.

That was something Lake Laberge MLA Cathers took issue with in the assembly, saying it was premature to send out a release before some of the legislation had received third and final reading.

Alleging it was a disrespect and breach of the assembly’s process, he said it violated the privilege of members of the assembly too. The Speaker is set to rule on the matter come the spring sitting.