Yukon NDP Leader Liz Hanson and Takhini—Kopper King MLA Kate White have been sworn in as the New Democrat caucus of the Yukon Legislative Assembly.

The Yukon NDP caucus is calling on the Yukon Party government to stop playing politics on carbon pricing until it reveals the research it has done regarding its impacts on Yukon’s public and private sectors. Documents obtained by the Yukon NDP through Yukon’s access to information law prove that the Yukon Party government was quietly discussing the financial consequences of carbon neutrality as early as 2008 and as recently as February 2016 – a direct contradiction to Premier Darrell Pasloski’s claims that his government is not working on a plan to implement a carbon tax.

Today’s Conference Board of Canada Territorial Outlook confirms the Yukon Party government’s failure to be responsible managers of the territory’s economy, say the Yukon NDP caucus. The forecast, warns Yukoners to prepare for hard times ahead as the mining industry on which Yukon relies continues to slow down. The Yukon NDP caucus has consistently pressed for a greater focus on economic diversification, especially in the energy sector.

The Yukon NDP says that a recent application to the Yukon Surface Rights Board to have an entire Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in neighbourhood moved off of their own settlement land underscores the need for modern successor resource legislation. For years, the Yukon NDP has called for the development of new mining legislation and highlighted the need to work with both First Nation governments and industry to develop modern resource legislation that would bring the territory's mining laws into the 21st century.

The Yukon NDP’s Energy, Mines and Resources Critic, Mayo—Tatchun MLA Jim Tredger, wrote the following open letter regarding the Yukon government’s role in building a local renewable energy industry:

The Yukon NDP Official Opposition is calling on the Yukon Party government to pull the curtains back from its plans to introduce fracking to Yukon in light of yet another blocked attempt to shine a light on the government’s intentions. The Yukon NDP caucus has released a copy of the government’s oil and gas engagement strategy, obtained through Yukon’s access to information law, however the entire document (minus an appendix on social media guidelines) is completely censored.

Yukon NDP Official Opposition Health and Social Services Critic Jan Stick is pleased for Yukon families that the government confirmed today it will not take any of the incoming Canada Child Benefit from social assistance recipients. Since April, Stick has been questioning the territorial government on whether it would claw back a share of the tax-free federal measure, which is set to replace the taxable Universal Child Care Benefit on July 1st.

Early this morning, the Supreme Court of Canada granted leave to appeal in the Peel Watershed case, as requested by several Yukon First Nation governments and environmental groups. The decision by the Supreme Court, a win for Yukon First Nation governments and the Yukon public, will prompt a review of the Yukon Court of Appeal’s decision.

The Yukon NDP Official Opposition is taking the Yukon Party government to task for its tired and out of touch agenda as the Yukon Legislative Assembly closes its doors for the last time before this year’s territorial election. Inside the legislature, Yukon NDP Leader Liz Hanson called for a fairer, more sustainable Yukon while holding the government to account for its failure to improve access to health care, grow Yukon’s economy and protect the environment.

The Yukon NDP Official Opposition is calling on the Yukon Party government, as the territory’s largest employer, to pull its weight by hiring its fair share of apprentice tradespeople. Yukon NDP MLA Kate White, the only journeyperson currently elected to the Yukon Legislative Assembly, is taking the government to task over the news that the Yukon government only employs four out of a pool of 483 registered Yukon apprentices.