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WHITEHORSE – The Yukon Party Official Opposition remains deeply concerned about the state of the Yukon’s finances after the Liberal government issued a $70.2 million special warrant on January 23 that authorizes expenditures without the scrutiny of the Yukon Legislative Assembly. This additional spending comes only 63 days after the government and their NDP partners passed a Fall Supplementary Budget that increased net Operations & Maintenance expenditures by $129.4 million and decreased the projected surplus by $43.6 million.
The new spending covers additional costs on mismanaged files like the Victoria Gold mine site, land development, and maintaining service levels within Highways and Public Works. Yukoners are now on the hook for an additional $51.8 million for work at Victoria Gold, which the territorial Liberals took over rather than letting the company pay for the cleanup.
“We have been sounding the alarm about this Liberal government’s spending beyond its means for the past several months,” said Finance Critic Brad Cathers. “This out-of-touch Liberal government continues to waste millions of dollars due to their rash political decisions while neglecting Yukoners' real needs and priorities. Meanwhile, they are on the verge of being sued by two or three independent officers of the Legislative Assembly for unlawfully interfering with those budgets. Elections Yukon said the lack of funding puts the 2025 election at risk, the Child and Youth Advocate accused the government of political interference, and the Ombudsman stated that the government intrusion creates both a real and perceived conflict of interest.”
Despite a looming territorial financial crisis due to reckless spending, Kate White and the NDP continue to prop up the Liberal government. In return for the support, the NDP annually benefits from over a quarter-million dollars in additional direct funding from Cabinet to their Caucus.
The minority Liberal government, led by a Premier no one voted for to hold that position, has no democratic mandate. The time for an election is now.
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Contact:
Tim Kucharuk
Media Director
(867) 689-7874
Change Starts Now!
Add your name if you will stand with Currie Dixon and the Yukon Party!