The territory’s newly elected MLAs will gather for a one-day sitting of the legislative assembly at 3 p.m. on Jan. 12.

Liberal Premier Sandy Silver’s announcement was released last Friday afternoon.

It will be the first time a Liberal premier has sat in the legislature since 2002, the final year of Pat Duncan’s short-lived regime.

As part of next month’s short session, the MLAs will elect a Speaker of the legislature, a deputy speaker, who is also chair of the committee of the whole, a deputy chair of that committee and members to other committees.

Commissioner Doug Phillips will read the throne speech, which is drafted by the premier and cabinet and lays out the government’s priorities for the 34th Legislative Assembly.

“I am pleased to have the support of the Yukon Party and the NDP for the one-day session,” Silver said in last Friday’s short statement.

“The purpose is to make the necessary formal appoints to allow the legislative committees to begin their work.

“We look forward to welcoming all members and working together to build respect, accountability and inclusivity within Yukon’s legislature.”

A longer sitting is expected to take place in the spring.

The Liberals, elected Nov. 7, campaigned on a broad platform that didn’t, by Silver’s own admission, make any “grandiose promises.”

Still, there are a handful of issues the new government will necessarily confront this winter.

During the campaign, Chief Jack Caesar of the Ross River Dena Council wrote to leaders of the Yukon’s political parties about the dire housing situation in his community.

Nearly half of the 130 homes in Ross River are unsafe to live in, he said, and emergency temporary shelter is needed for 48 to 60 families before winter.

Well, it’s winter now.

The Liberals promised to contribute funds to address the housing crisis in Ross River, even though, technically, housing in the community is a federal matter.

“These are Yukoners, and they’re living in third world conditions. This is a crisis,” Liberal spokesperson Valerie Royle said in October, shortly after Caesar’s letter was released to media.

The territory has already experienced temperatures below -30 C. Will the Liberals come to Ross River’s aid before the next cold snap?

Carbon pricing in the Yukon was a major issue during the election campaign, but now the question is not if it will come to the territory, but when.

Silver made future carbon pricing in the Yukon official while he was in Ottawa earlier this month. He signed on to a pan-Canadian framework for addressing climate change, along with 11 of Canada’s 13 premiers (Manitoba and Saskachewan balked).

How carbon pricing will work in the territory is still uncertain, but Silver promised that all revenues will be returned to Yukon residents and businesses.

Before the writ was dropped, Silver vowed that if elected, he would meet with every Yukon First Nation chief during his first 30 days in office. Silver was sworn in as premier on Dec. 3, so that gives him one more week to fulfill that promise.

It also remains to be seen how the Liberals will implement the dozens of Calls to Action, made by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), that are aimed at provinces and territories.

This month marks one year since the commission released its full report on the deleterious effects of Canada’s residential school system, which was part of a greater effort by Canada to colonize indigenous peoples and force them to assimilate.

The harmful impacts of assimilation policies are still felt across Canada today.

The commission’s Calls to Action offer steps governments, institutions and people can take to improve outcomes for indigenous peoples and for all people to begin the healing process.

The Yukon Party promised during the election to put $3.5 million toward implementing the TRC’s recommendations, and $1.5 million toward ending violence against indigenous women.

The party was criticized for not having committed money to these projects sooner, when it was government.

The Liberals didn’t make any dollar commitments during the campaign. Rather, they said they would “work with Yukon First Nations to identify how the Yukon government can implement its responsibilities stemming from the Calls to Action.”

Silver stressed during the campaign that a Liberal government would renew government-to-government relationships with Yukon First Nations.

Grand Chief Peter Johnston of the Council of Yukon First Nations called Silver’s election “a new day” in Yukon intergovernmental relations. Hopes are high that Silver and his government will deliver, and fast.

Last week, Canada’s telecommunications and broadcasting regulator declared high-speed Internet a basic service (see related story, p. 3).

A $750-million fund was established to help expand broadband internet access to regions where it’s not currently available.

However, Rick Steele, a Yukon technology analyst, told the Star last week it’s unlikely the Yukon will benefit from this fund. Those dollars are meant for communities in greatest need, and most communities in the territory have high-speed service, albeit not at the speeds the CRTC wants.

Economic Development Minister Ranj Pillai said last week the task of bringing the Yukon, literally, up to speed with the rest of Canada will rest primarily on the shoulders of service providers.

Whether the opposition parties agree is another question.

Pillai took the CRTC’s cue to announce that he’s been mandated to find a solution for Internet redundancy in the Yukon, to help protect against costly service disruptions.

To this end, the Yukon Party government said it planned to build a fibre optic line up the Dempster Highway to Inuvik, in partnership with the Northwest Territories and Ottawa, in the last territorial budget. That project has yet to break ground.

It’s unclear if the Liberals can achieve Internet redundancy before the next territorial election, slated for 2021.

Nils Clarke, the Liberal MLA for Riverdale North, was nominated for the role of House Speaker by Silver on Dec. 6.

If he’s voted in, as expected, he would replace Patti McLeod, the returning Yukon Party MLA for Watson Lake and the most recent Speaker, having succeeded Dave Laxton last spring.

In the Yukon, the legislative assembly must sit at least once every year, and for a maximum of 60 days.

Typically, there is a sitting in spring and fall, and the territorial budget is tabled around the end of the fiscal year on March 31.

Members for the following committees will be confirmed when the MLAs sit on Jan 12:

• The Members’ Services Board;

• The Standing Committee on Rules, Elections and Privileges;

• The Standing Committee on Statutory Instruments;

• The Standing Committee on Appointments to Major Government Boards and Committees, and;

• The Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

Official Opposition Leader Stacey Hassard and NDP Leader Liz Hanson were unavailable for comment today on the pending sitting.