The Yukon government has tabled some new additions to the 2023-2024 fiscal year budget as MLAs began a new legislative session.

Finance Minister and former premier Sandy Silver introduced the revised numbers last Wednesday, the first day of the fall session.

The First Supplementary Estimates include increases of $105.9 million in net operations and maintenance (O&M) and no changes to gross capital funding.

According to Silver and a news release, “a large portion of the increase in O&M is the result of meeting commitments following the signing of a new collective agreement between the Government of Yukon and Yukon Employees’ Union.

“This new collective agreement was ratified in June and accounts for a $36.9-million increase in O&M.”

Supplementary estimates are used annually by a government to account for spending that is unforeseen at the time of setting the annual budget.

Silver said the new estimates include “significant investments in protecting the environment and in keeping Yukoners healthy, such as:

1. $19.6 million for wildland firefighting costs in response to the fire season experienced in the territory;

2. $14.9 million to help with pressure on services at the Yukon Hospital Corp. to ensure that Yukoners have access to the health care services and supports they need;

3. $9.8 million for insured health supports.

The estimates also include $21.4 million for the development of a marine services platform in Skagway.

An economic update issued at the same time indicates the real gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to rise for a fourth straight year, with growth forecast at 2.9 per cent in 2023.

Silver said “the economic outlook remains positive, with real GDP gains projected in all years of the forecast (2023 to 2027).

“Our government will continue to do what is necessary to strengthen the health of our economy, our environment and our people,” the Finance minister said.

“We are pleased that steps were taken to ensure we were on a sustainable path with Budget 2023-24, including the use of a contingency fund, helped safeguard our fiscal position while we responded to unanticipated challenges,” Silver said. 

In the legislature, he said the government has maintained its surplus by making use of its contingency fund, included as part of budget 2023-24.

“This $50-million contingency fund helped shelter the government’s fiscal position and allowed it to respond to emerging challenges throughout the year. The use of the contingency fund has allowed the government to present a revised surplus of $3.6 million as part of these supplementary estimates,” he said.

“More recently, we expanded the contingency fund to provide a more realistic reflection of the challenges heading our way from one year to the next. This tool allows us to absorb the costs associated with some of the most acute needs throughout the year.

“Since its inception, this contingency fund has increased to $50 million and helps us in our response to a variety of emergent issues,” Silver said.

“Most of the events that I’ve touched on in these last few minutes have been absorbed by this fund, which has been exhausted in the first supplementary estimates.”

The projected year-end net debt of $423.8 million is up from the March projection of $374.8 million.

Silver said, “Over the last three years, we have become very familiar with navigating unexpected scenarios regarding both minor and major course corrections.

“While these scenarios may be viewed as potential disruptions to our plan, they also provide opportunities to test our abilities to respond to challenges and to improve how we do so, year over year.

“This year, we are contending with a range of compounding challenges requiring our government to adjust spending to meet the territory’s needs.

“Most striking, perhaps, has been the latest fire season, which has been one of the worst on record in jurisdictions throughout the country,” Silver said.

“We have seen that all levels of government need to work in a co-ordinated and collaborative way to ensure effective responses. This work requires adequate funding to implement.

“While the situation here has not been as devastating as it has been for our neighbours to the east and to the south, intense forest fires have been raging all summer in the Yukon.

“However, the reality of natural disasters and climate change in this territory do not stop with just fires. My community of Dawson City and the entire Klondike Valley faced the enormous struggle that comes from homes, businesses, and farms facing immense and sudden flooding,” he pointed out.

“These impacted individuals have also called on our territorial government to provide assistance, which requires adequate funding to address, not unlike our needs stemming from the fire season.”

Silver went on to extol what the government has done to relieve economic pressures on the territory.

“Several measures included in the 2023-24 budget are already in place. In 2023-24, we extended the inflation relief rebate program, which provides a $50-per-month rebate on ATCO and Yukon Energy utility bills for April and May billing periods, along with three more months that have been recently added.”

Ever since the government began implementing this rebate, he added, “I have heard from Yukoners across the territory about how this has really helped in keeping their household expenses lower.”

He said that has put more pressure on the government as well to adapt.

“With many higher costs being felt by Yukoners in their day-to-day lives, governments are incurring additional costs as well as we respond to higher costs of living.”

The revised numbers didn’t sit well with the Yukon Party, especially the extra cost relating to the new collective agreement with unionized government employees, which represents retroactive spending.

Brad Cathers, the party’s Finance critic, said “the fact that we are seeing this retroactive spending of so many millions of dollars is clearly an indication that the government settled the contract at a far higher amount than they had planned to do and, as a result, they underestimated previously what those costs would be.”

The NDP, which is keeping the Liberals in power through a Confidence and Supply Agreement, also didn’t seem to be impressed with the numbers associated with the new collective agreement but wouldn’t press the issue.

“My only point would be that if negotiation for a new collective agreement takes 18 months and we see this happening again in the future, I think we will have to re-evaluate how that process goes,” said party leader Kate White.

“In recent memory, this has not been the common practice. Typically, agreements are able to be negotiated within the time frame so it doesn’t cover multiple budget years, but, as per the briefing, my understanding is that this is to meet the new requirements of the collective agreement and so we will have no questions.”