The swords were out even before the legislative assembly reconvened on Sept. 21 as opposition leaders sparred with Premier Dennis Fentie over his failure to call a byelection to fill the vacant Whitehorse Centre seat before the fall session, which ended yesterday.

Opposition leaders accused Fentie of flouting democracy while he assured downtown voters that even without their own MLA, they would be well represented by the ruling Yukon Party.

And so the seat remained empty through seven weeks of question periods and debates with the opposition parties claiming the moral high ground, but little else.

This was the tone for the fall session – big on talk and scant on action – that ended yesterday afternoon with a dull roar and no political bloodshed.

Fentie remains confident that he and the majority Yukon Party government are steering the territory in the right direction.

From the official Opposition's perspective, the Yukon Liberals insist Fentie, who also serves as Finance minister, is steering the territory into a financial abyss of debt.

"The fiscal path that the Yukon Party is heading on, borrowing that will soon be upwards $250 million before this government runs out its mandate,” said Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell. "We think Yukoners are concerned and need to know what's happening.”

This past summer, the Yukon Development Corporation issued $100 million worth of 30-year bonds – backed by the territorial government – to pay for its share of the Mayo B hydro expansion.

The government also approved the Yukon Hospital Corporation to borrow $67 million to complete new hospitals in Watson Lake and Dawson City, and a new nurses' residence in Whitehorse.

"In the run-up to the election, the Yukon Party is going for broke with no concern for the long-term implications of this spending spree,” Mitchell added.

This week, Fentie announced he would call a byelection for Whitehorse Centre "in the coming days” and that he would table his fifth budget this spring, killing speculation he would lead the Yukon Party in a snap election, nearly a year before his government's mandate expires Oct. 14, 2011.

This is good news for the New Democrats and leader Liz Hanson, who, without a seat since being acclaimed to the party's helm in September 2009, has watched the last three sittings from the bleachers.

The New Democrats and Hanson paint the ruling Yukon Party as arrogant and unwilling to improve the democratic process, preferring to take advantage of the fine print of rules and regulations.

"It didn't matter what was being proposed by either opposition party, the government simply talked it out and if they didn't choose to talk it out, they ridiculed the opposition,” is how Hanson described the fall sitting's debate. "It was a sham, quite frankly, and that's not what people are elected to do. It's legitimate to have a voice in opposition and it should be heard with respect.”

When lone NDP member Steve Cardiff tried to debate his private member's bill to halve the time a sitting premier has to call a byelection – from 180 to 90 days – Fentie used his majority to adjourn debate.

The government also refused Cardiff's request for lobbying legislation and the NDP MLA's motion to improve how appointments are made to government boards and committees.

"This government reminds me of the Aesop's Fable The Boasting Traveller,” quipped Cardiff in a press release following the end of the fall session. "An arrogant man was bragging about all the wonderful and clever things he had done. His audience began to grow tired of his constant boasting.”

But members of the government either touted their accomplishments at every opportunity or criticized the opposition.

Whether it was during two debates on establishing a permanent homeless shelter in Whitehorse, or deflecting questions on selling off the Yukon Housing Corporation's mortgage portfolio, or investing nearly $700,000 in taxpayer funds in the failed Great River Journey.

Throughout 28 question periods, Fentie refused to acknowledge his government ran up a $25.6 million deficit for 2009/2010, even after the public accounts for that fiscal year were tabled on Oct. 28.

Facing a barrage of questions over the housing corporation's proposal to liquidate up to $28 million of its mortgage portfolio to address a cash-flow problem, Jim Kenyon, minister responsible for the corporation, leaned on his old standby – ridiculing the Yukon Liberals for "the shortest majority government in the history of the Commonwealth.”

In terms of legislation impacting a majority of Yukoners, there was but one piece – an amendment to the Motor Vehicles Act outlawing cellphone use by drivers – leaving opposition MLAs little to debate outside of spending lines in two supplementary spending bills.

But it was the sitting's opening day that provided a window into the dearth of new issues to debate.

While Fentie has denied it, MLAs were recalled for the fall sitting in time for the Yukon Party to fire a shot across Liberal-Yukon MP Larry Bagnell's bow, a day before Bagnell voted in Ottawa to save the contentious federal long-gun registry.

Both the Liberals and NDP rejected government backbencher Steve Nordick's motion urging Bagnell to vote against the registry, but the message had been communicated, albeit on an issue outside the purview of the Yukon's legislature.

Independent MLA Brad Cathers, estranged from the Yukon Party caucus after resigning over the ATCO scandal in August 2009, agreed that much of the fall sitting was for show.

"It's fair to say there was a lot of posturing and sabre rattling from both sides of the floor from parties preparing for a byelection campaign,” Cathers said.

Vying for the Whitehorse Centre seat, vacant since the July 28 death of its former MLA and NDP leader Todd Hardy, will be Hanson for the New Democrats and Kirk Cameron for the Liberals. The Yukon Party is holding its nomination meeting tonight.