Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon has called the fall sitting of the legislature the worst he’s ever seen.

The first minority government in 30 years, along with a number of contentious issues and a partnership between the Liberals and the NDP, all combined to create what could be called the perfect political storm.

Dixon could have included himself and his party when it came to contributing to that atmosphere – but he didn’t while addressing the media on Thursday afternoon.

For the first week, the Yukon Party didn’t ask about anything other than the Hidden Valley School sexual abuse scandal. It followed that with spearheading a motion that called on Premier Sandy Silver to remove deputy premier Tracy-Anne McPhee from cabinet over her role in the scandal. The motion passed, but the minister stayed.

It could be argued Dixon fizzled further when he introduced a non-confidence motion to oust the Liberals that was utterly condemned by the NDP.

In that motion, Dixon made overtures to the NDP that he would maintain the Confidence and Supply Agreement the NDP created with the Liberals that allowed the Liberals to maintain power.

For months, Dixon has castigated that agreement, and savagely criticized the other two parties and their “left-wing coalition” over it.

Many people – including NDP Leader Kate White – saw the move as crass political opportunism.

Dixon said Thursday he didn’t think he and the party came off as foolish after that fiasco and the session in general.

“That was a significant offer on my part, and a significant concession,” he told reporters. “It’s something I’ve been vehemently opposed to, and it took a lot for me to go to my party and my caucus to ask for. I made it hoping the NDP would accept, and it was made in good faith.

“This session was a difficult one for the government, and it capped off a difficult year for the Liberal party.”

Last March, he noted, “they called an unnecessary snap election, and had a fairly disastrous result. They lost MLAs, they lost the popular vote and as a result they were forced into an agreement with the NDP to stay in power.

“Since that time, they’ve struggled to maintain that relationship, and we’ve seen the number of fractures in that relationship grow. They seemed to take that relationship for granted.”

Dixon said this was the “worst session for a government that he’s seen in his time in Yukon politics.”

He pointed to the demand for McPhee to resign and the postponement of “marquee” legislation such as Bill 3 for home renovations and retrofits (see p. 9), as examples of government ineptitude.

“And of course they face a non-confidence motion. They held on by the skin of their teeth, with reluctant support from the NDP. It’s a bizarre tactic that they treat the NDP so poorly.”

Dixon also pointed to ministers’ inability to provide a non-garbled answer to even simple inquiries as another example of general incompetence.

“The fact the ministers were unable to answer basic questions, and were often left reading from scripts unrelated to the actual subject demonstrates a disrespect for the legitimate questions and concerns of Yukoners,” he said. “This failure of leadership and disrespect for Yukoners starts at the top with the premier.

“It’s an unprecedented poor performance,” he said. “They barely squeaked by.”

Dixon praised his team for its work over the session.

“I think we did a good job representing Yukoners and holding this government to account.”

Dixon also suggested the Yukon Party has built a “fairly strong relationship” with the NDP.

To most onlookers, that might be considered unlikely after the way the party and White repudiated the offer to join forces and form a new government as political opportunism.

“I think we have a strong relationship with Kate White and her team, and I think we will continue to work together,” Dixon said earnestly.

In a follow-up news release, Dixon and the party stated “the Liberal minority government’s 2021 fall sitting of the Yukon Legislative Assembly can be summed up in one word: disastrous.

“The Liberals’ failure to answer opposition questions surrounding the Hidden Valley sexual abuse scandal dominated the sitting. The Liberal government desperately attempted to change the channel on the Hidden Valley scandal in mid-October by announcing a hastily-thought-out vaccine mandate for government employees, contractors, and NGOs that led to communication failures and more questions from Yukoners. “ The Oct. 15 announcement came mere weeks after Silver had claimed there was no need for such a mandate in the Yukon, the party noted.

“The government also fumbled the mandate’s implementation. Originally identified in the mandate, allied health care providers were not included until just hours before the new rules took effect. It took a last-minute emergency cabinet meeting to fulfill this obligation.

“The Liberals also bungled their signature piece of legislation that would create the Better Building Program – a building retrofit program that would see municipalities administer loans for energy retrofits.”

This program would help Yukoners and businesses fight climate change, “and should have been a slam-dunk for this government with unanimous support,” the Yukon Party said.

“However, the minister of Community Services (Richard Mostyn) and the Liberal government alienated municipalities to the extent that multiple mayors and councils requested a delay on the legislation to address questions and concerns.

“At the last minute, the Liberals admitted their failures and agreed to shelve the legislation until the spring so the Liberals could go do their homework.”