The Yukon's three women MLAs want the legislative assembly to adjourn earlier in the day.

Yukon Party MLA Elaine Taylor, Liberal representative Pat Duncan and NDP member Lorraine Peter have joined together for the first time in the territory's history to create a non-partisan women's caucus.

The three only met as a caucus for the first time about two weeks ago at the request of Speaker Ted Staffen to prepare for the Canadian Regional Conference of Commonwealth Parliamentarians in July. They will be attending the meetings in Ottawa as part of the regional women's delegation.

But what started out as discussions to attend the conference quickly led to the understanding that as women they shared similar issues and concerns, Peter told a joint news conference this morning.

'We recognized immediately there was a common ground among us.'

All three MLAs are caregivers and mothers or grandmothers, said Peter. They have experienced frustrations about the current sitting hours of the legislature, which is convened Monday to Thursday from 1 p.m. until 6 p.m.

The new women's caucus will be putting forward a motion in Taylor's name for debate on Thursday. It asks the territory's 18 elected representatives to change the house's adjournment to 5:30 p.m.

If the motion is agreed to, the new hours of the assembly would take effect on Monday, May 15.

Ironically, said Taylor, it's the day after Mother's Day.

'This really is about family and the recognition of the importance of family and making accommodations for family while serving the people of the Yukon,' said Taylor.

For MLAs with young families, the current timing for the end of the day means most are missing dinner and sometimes the sporting and other evening activities of their children, said Duncan.

'I feel it's very important for MLAs to make it home to at least have dinner with their families,' agreed Peter.

'Really, the emphasis is on family,' added Duncan. 'That half-hour can make a substantial difference to a family.'

Peter said she would like to see more women run in the pending territorial election and hopes this small change to the house's standing orders may empower them to consider it.

'(Other women) see how women are treated in this (political) environment. This is one way to encourage women to get involved in politics and taking that step,' she said. 'Women understand women's issues better than anyone else.'

For women to choose to run in an election and enter public life is often a challenging and difficult decision, added Duncan.

'We're definitely in a men's world,' Peter agreed.

Elected representatives' priorities are with their constituents, said Taylor, but as parents and spouses, family and children are also of the highest importance.

'It's about working towards creating a climate that's conducive to making it a more representative workplace,' she said.

If changed to a 5:30 p.m. adjournment time, the legislature would be losing approximately two hours of debate time a week when compared to its current sitting hours.

Duncan said there had been discussion about also amending the starting time of the house, but decided against for now.

'It's incumbent on all of us to focus our energies and to focus our debates,' she said.

Some time will be lost, she agreed, but by working a little harder and focusing on debate that effectively uses the time available, it should be feasible to move ahead effectively, said Duncan.

She added though there isn't time in this spring sitting of the legislature, which will conclude May 24, further amendments to the standing orders could be made to make up for the time difference.

This is not the first time the sitting hours of the assembly will be amended.

The house previously sat Monday through Thursday from 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and would then reconvene in the evenings on Monday and Wednesday from 7:00 until 9:00.

There have also been morning sessions in the past.

The sitting times were last changed in 2002 to eliminate the evening debates.

It's a small change, said Duncan, but it's one that will have a real and immediate difference in the legislature and on the lives of all those who work in the building.