The NDP wonders if the Yukon government obeyed the law in firing Dawson City's mayor and council.

In question period Monday, NDP MLA Steve Cardiff asked Community Services Minister Glenn Hart what reason under the Municipal Act the minister used to fire Dawson City's mayor and council last Tuesday.

'Which of the five conditions, if any, was the minister acting on last Tuesday when he appointed a trustee to conduct the municipal affairs of Dawson City?' Cardiff asked.

'Dawson City is broke,' Hart told the legislature.

'Well, that's not in the Municipal Act. I don't know where he got that one,' Cardiff retorted.

The act specifies a minister can order a trustee for a municipality if one of five things happened:

• the municipality didn't or can't make a debt payment;

• the council failed to carry out a duty it must do according to the act;

• the council failed to follow an order or direction by the minister;

• the council is no longer able to form quorum;

• the majority of council ask the minister to appoint a trustee.

Since being broke is not one of the five possible conditions, Hart was asked after question period which criteria he used to give the boot to former mayor Glen Everitt and ex-councillors Wayne Potoroka, Byrun Shandler and Bill Holmes.

Hart said the government used parts of the first three conditions to fire the former mayor and council.

As for the first condition, Hart said the payment failure was on the arbitration award of $970,000 the town has to pay to the constructor of its recreation centre.

'They failed to meet the requirement we had to make that payment on their behalf.'

But town supervisor Andre Carrel said earlier Monday he issued the cheque for the town, paying the $970,000 to TSL Contractors Ltd. for the arbitration award.

'We had to prepare monies to lend to the City of Dawson,' said Hart. He loaned the money to the town last week.

As part of the financial plan, the town could afford an award of as much as $1.35 million.

As for conditions two and three, which are similar, Hart said the council 'failed to follow the financial plan on several occasions' and didn't always obey the government-appointed supervisor.

There was a dispute with the garbage contract the town was going to hand out. Carrel ordered the town not to give the contract to the company it had already been awarded to, but to a lower bidder, who offered fewer services.

After initially balking, all but one member of the council grudgingly rescinded the contract. The one who refused to yank the deal, Joanne Van Nostrand, resigned immediately after taking her stand.

Hart was asked on what issue other than the garbage contract, did the council not follow the financial plan.

He said council didn't always provide financial information or minutes of meetings. The financial information was part of developing the town plan, he added, so that's how not providing the materials meant council failed to follow the plan.

Cardiff wants to know if Hart's use of the Municipal Act and the way he applied three of the conditions would stand up in court.

'Did he get a legal opinion?' Cardiff wondered.

'It doesn't add up to me.'