34th Yukon Legislative Assembly

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The 34th Yukon Legislative Assembly commenced on November 8, 2016, after Yukon voters defeated the Yukon Party government under the leadership of Darrell Pasloski and returned a Liberal majority government under the leadership of Sandy Silver. The Yukon Party was reduced to Official Opposition status and the New Democrats were reduced to Third Party status.

Yukon Party political party

The Yukon Party is a conservative political party in Yukon, Canada. It is the successor to the Yukon Progressive Conservative Party.

Darrell Pasloski Canadian politician

Darrell Thomas Pasloski is a territorial politician from Yukon, Canada, who was leader of the Yukon Party, and served as the eighth Premier of Yukon from 2011 to 2016. His party was defeated in the general election of November, 2016, and he lost his own seat. He was succeeded by Sandy Silver as Premier of Yukon on December 3, 2016.

Yukon Liberal Party

The Yukon Liberal Party is a political party in the territory of Yukon, Canada.

Contents

It is the second Liberal government in Yukon history.

The current Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is Liberal MLA Nils Clarke, who was elected on January 12, 2017. [1]

Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is a title commonly held by presiding officers of parliamentary bodies styled legislative assemblies. The office is most widely used in state and territorial legislatures in Australia, and in provincial and territorial legislatures in Canada.

Nils Clarke is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Yukon in the 2016 election. He represents the electoral district of Riverdale North as a member of the Yukon Liberal Party.

First Session

The first session of the 34th Legislative Assembly was convened on January 12, 2017. [2] The single-day session was called by the Premier in order to allow the legislature to elect a new Speaker (Nils Clarke) and establish committee membership from among the MLAs. In a rarity, there was no indication from the government as to what its legislative agenda would look like in its term, as the government signaled its preference to use a late spring sitting for its Speech from the Throne.

The short one-day session drew criticism from the Opposition, which claimed that the government had denied them the opportunity to hold the government to account through either debate or Question Periods. [3]

The Premier later called a second sitting of the Legislative Assembly for April 20; five months since the government was sworn into office. According to the Whitehorse Star, since the beginning of party politics in the Yukon in 1978, no government had gone so long between an election and its first Question Period. The decision drew fire from the Opposition, who labeled it a "profound lack of respect for the legislature." [4] Premier Silver also drew criticism for authorizing nearly $30 million in Special Warrant spending - money approved without legislative oversight - a practice he decried while in Opposition himself. [5] Weeks later, Silver authorized an even larger Special Warrant - this time worth up to $427 million, with $334 million related to operation and maintenance funds and $93 million to capital plans up to June 30, 2017. [6] This new Special Warrant, the largest in Yukon history by more than double, drew severe criticism from the Opposition, who labeled Silver's actions as hypocritical. [7]

Executive Council

The new Executive Council of the Yukon (Cabinet) was sworn in on December 3, 2016. Premier Silver appointed six ministers; a Cabinet that was smaller than his predecessors. The Cabinet was the second gender-balanced Cabinet in Yukon history, following in the footsteps of the previous Liberal Premier Pat Duncan.

The Executive Council or Cabinet of Yukon, Canada, is chosen by the Premier from the elected members of the governing party in the Yukon Legislative Assembly.

Premier of Yukon first minister for the Canadian territory of Yukon

The Premier of Yukon is the first minister for the Canadian territory of Yukon. They are the territory's head of government and de facto chief executive, although their powers are considerably smaller than that of a provincial premier. The office was established in 1978 when most authority was devolved from the appointed Commissioner to the leader of the party that had the confidence of the Yukon Legislative Assembly; for the year immediately prior to this, that leader was one of the members serving with the Commissioner's executive committee.

Pat Duncan is a Canadian politician from Yukon. Duncan served as leader of the Yukon Liberal Party from 1998 to 2005 and as the sixth Premier of Yukon from 2000 until 2002. Duncan was the first Liberal premier of the Yukon and the first female premier in the Yukon, the second woman in Canadian history to win the premiership of a province or territory through a general election, the first to do so by defeating an incumbent premier, and the first to do so by defeating a male opponent.

The current Executive Council is made up of members of the Yukon Liberal Party (current as of January 2017).

Commissioner
The Honourable Doug Phillips 2010—
PortfolioMinister
Premier of Yukon
      & Minister responsible for the Executive Council Office
      & Minister of Finance
Sandy Silver 2016—
Deputy Premier
      & Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources
      & Minister of Economic Development
      & Minister responsible for the Yukon Development Corporation
      & Minister responsible for the Yukon Energy Corporation
Ranj Pillai 2016—
Government House Leader
      & Minister of Justice
      & Minister of Education
Tracy-Anne McPhee 2016—
Minister of Community Services
      & Minister responsible for the French Language Services Directorate
      & Minister responsible for the Yukon Liquor Corporation
      & Minister responsible for the Yukon Lottery Corporation
John Streicker 2016—
Minister of Health & Social Services
      & Minister of the Environment
      & Minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation
Pauline Frost 2016—
Minister of Highways & Public Works
      & Minister of the Public Service Commission
Richard Mostyn 2016—
Minister of Tourism and Culture
      & Minister responsible for the Women's Directorate
      & Minister responsible for Yukon Workers' Compensation Health and Safety Board
Jeanie Dendys 2016—

Leadership changes

Darrell Pasloski was defeated in his riding of Mountainview on election night and was unable to return to the Yukon Legislative Assembly to lead the Yukon Party. After losing government status and falling to six seats, the Yukon Party appointed Stacey Hassard as interim leader. He is also interim Leader of the Official Opposition until the Yukon Party chooses a permanent replacement in the spring of 2017. [8]

Members

NamePartyRiding
  Ted Adel Liberal Copperbelt North
  Nils Clarke Liberal Riverdale North
  Jeanie Dendys Liberal Mountainview
  Pauline Frost Liberal Vuntut Gwitchin
  Paolo Gallina Liberal Porter Creek Centre
  Don Hutton Liberal Mayo-Tatchun
  Tracy McPhee Liberal Riverdale South
  Richard Mostyn Liberal Whitehorse West
  Ranj Pillai Liberal Porter Creek South
  Sandy Silver Liberal Klondike
  John Streicker Liberal Mount Lorne-Southern Lakes
  Brad Cathers Yukon Party Lake Laberge
  Stacey Hassard Yukon Party Pelly-Nisutlin
  Wade Istchenko Yukon Party Kluane
  Scott Kent Yukon Party Copperbelt South
  Patti McLeod Yukon Party Watson Lake
  Geraldine Van Bibber Yukon Party Porter Creek North
     Elizabeth Hanson New Democratic Party Whitehorse Centre
     Kate White New Democratic Party Takhini-Kopper King

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The Yukon order of precedence is a nominal and symbolic hierarchy of important positions within the territory of Yukon. It has no legal standing but is used to dictate ceremonial protocol at events of a territorial nature.

  1. The Queen of Canada
  2. The Governor General of Canada
  3. The Commissioner of Yukon
  4. Members of the Canadian Royal Family
  5. The Premier of Yukon
  6. The Speaker of the Yukon Legislative Assembly
  7. The Justices of the Supreme Court
  8. Members of the Executive Council of Yukon
  9. The Leader of the Official Opposition
  10. Members of the Yukon Legislative Assembly with precedence governed by the date of their first election to the Legislature
  11. Member of the Senate for the Yukon (vacant)
  12. Member of Parliament for the Yukon
  13. Yukon First Nation Chiefs and Council of Yukon First Nations
  14. Bishops of Roman Catholic and Anglican faiths with precedence determined by order of appointment
  15. R.C.M.P. Divisional Commander
  16. Armed Forces Commander
  17. Territorial Court Judges
  18. The Mayor of Whitehorse
  19. Yukon Government Deputy Ministers and senior Yukon Government officials with the status of Deputy Ministers, with precedence according to the respective dates of their appointments to the position

Dean Hassard is a Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district of Pelly-Nisutlin in the Yukon Legislative Assembly as a member of the Yukon Party from 2002 to 2006.

2011 Yukon general election

The 37th general election in Yukon, Canada, took place on October 11, 2011, to return members to the 33rd Yukon Legislative Assembly.

Sandy Silver Premier of Yukon

Sidney Alexander "Sandy" Silver is a Canadian politician, the ninth and current premier of Yukon since 2016. He was first elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2011 election, and was re-elected in 2016. He represents the electoral district of Klondike and is Leader of the Yukon Liberal Party.

Currie Dixon is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2011 election. He served as a Cabinet minister and represented the electoral district of Copperbelt North as a member of the Yukon Party caucus until 2016.

Stacey Hassard is a Canadian politician, who was elected to in the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2011 election. He represents the electoral district of Pelly-Nisutlin as a member of the Yukon Party caucus.

Wade Istchenko is a Canadian politician, who was elected to in the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2011 and 2016 elections. A former Cabinet minister, he currently represents the rural Yukon district of Kluane as a member of the opposition Yukon Party caucus.

Mike Nixon is a Canadian politician, who was elected to in the Yukon Legislative Assembly in the 2011 election. He represented the electoral district of Porter Creek South as a member of the Yukon Party caucus until 2016.

The 33rd Yukon Legislative Assembly commenced on October 12, 2011 after Yukon voters returned a majority Yukon Party government under the leadership of Darrell Pasloski. The Yukon NDP became the official opposition while the Liberals took third place status.

2016 Yukon general election elections

The 38th general election in Yukon, Canada, took place on November 7, 2016 to return members to the 34th Yukon Legislative Assembly.

Richard Mostyn is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Yukon in the 2016 election. He represents the electoral district of Whitehorse West as a member of the Yukon Liberal Party. He is currently the Minister of Highways and Public Works and the Public Service Commission.

References

  1. Nils Clarke. Yukon Legislative Assembly. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. Premier has asked the Commissioner to convene the Yukon Legislative Assembly. Government of Yukon. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
  3. Hassard criticizes Silver for one-day legislative sitting. Government of Yukon. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  4. Late sitting shows Grits’ aversion to questions: YP. Whitehorse Star (Sidney Cohen). Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  5. Late sitting shows Grits’ aversion to questions: YP. Whitehorse Star (Sidney Cohen). Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  6. Government of Yukon issues special warrant to meet financial commitments. Yukon Government. Retrieved April 5, 2017.
  7. Silver announces super-sized special warrant. Yukon News (Ashley Joannou). Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  8. Stacey Hassard named Yukon Party's interim leader. Yukon News (Maura Forrest), November 18, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2017.