With the unanimous consent of all parties, the Yukon Legislative Assembly expedited debate to pass the 2020-21 Budget in its entirety in March 2020. At the time, opposition parties requested an opportunity to ask further questions of the government about the 2020-21 Budget. Premier Silver committed to providing that opportunity and plans were announced on May 6 for Ministers and public servants of all government departments to be available to answer opposition questions over a series of days beginning on May 20. Liberal House Leader Tracy-Anne McPhee proposed to hold these budget meetings in the Legislative Assembly so that questions and answers could be broadcast, recorded, transcribed and media could attend. Opposition parties have rejected this offer. Therefore, these scheduled meetings will not occur.
It is disappointing that after making this request, and then calling publicly for an opportunity to hold our government to account, the opposition parties have turned down the chance to do just that. We are proud of the 2020-21 Budget as it supports Yukon families and businesses, invests in communities and cuts taxes to make life more affordable for Yukoners.
Tracy-Anne McPhee
Following the standard practice, government spending decisions that go beyond the year’s budget will be included in a supplementary budget to be debated by the Legislative Assembly when it resumes sitting. This will include the response to COVID-19 and other seasonal emergencies like flooding and wildfire activity. All parties agreed to resume the sitting of the Legislative Assembly on October 1, 2020.
