THAT this House urges the Yukon government to establish a commission to review all processes and procedures regarding appointments to government boards and committees, including the major government boards and committees listed in Standing Order 45(3.2), but excluding those established under the Umbrella Final Agreement;
THAT the commission report its findings and recommendations to the House no later than the end of the 2011 spring sitting of the Legislative Assembly; and
THAT the review includes, but is not limited in scope to, the processes for:
(1) soliciting nominations;
(2) receiving nominations;
(3) reviewing nominations;
(4) making merit-based appointments;
(5) reducing patronage appointments;
(6) setting honoraria and other remuneration;
(7) setting the terms of these appointments;
(8) determining reappointments;
(9) reducing the potential for conflicts of interest;
(10) determining the need for new boards and committees to address new issues and/or concerns — an example would be climate change; and
(11) disbanding boards and committees that no longer serve any widely recognized public function or purpose; and
THAT in doing so this House affirms the important role government boards and committees play in the participation of members of the public in the political, social, cultural, environmental and economic spheres of the Yukon Territory.
I give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House is of the opinion that the Standing Orders of the Legislative Assembly be amended to provide for the creation of a standing committee of the Legislative Assembly on Yukon government corporations and their entities in order that:
(1) this committee can inquire about current matters, future objectives and past performance of Yukon government corporations and their entities;
(2) this committee can conduct inquiries under the Yukon Public Inquiries Act into matters within the mandates of the Yukon government corporations and their entities;
(3) this committee can require Yukon government corporations and their entities to submit reports to the Legislative Assembly of their significant transactions, which are defined as those that are material in amount, and outside the ordinary course of business, or are judged to be sensitive and likely of interest to legislators and the public; and
(4) this committee’s discussions, inquiries and recommendations to the Legislative Assembly result in more open and accountable government and in better management of government operations.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to bring forward amendments to the Yukon’s conflict-of-interest legislation as
(1) the original legislation was enacted in 1995 and amended in 1999;
(2) the Yukon’s Conflict of Interest Commissioner in his annual report to the Legislative Assembly for the period April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010 notes concepts about what constitutes a conflict of interest to evolve over time; and
(3) he has asked the Yukon government in previous reports to consider amending the relevant legislation to increase transparency and clarity.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to immediately create a system for registering paid lobbyists, as recommended by the Yukon Conflict of Interest Commissioner in his annual report to the Legislative Assembly for the period April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to provide stable, predictable, long-term funding for non-governmental organizations as they collectively and individually provide a broad range of important programs and services to the Yukon public.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to implement the recommendations of the Working Without Boundaries Final Report in order to:
(1) improve the delivery of front-line services to children and families at risk in the departments of Education, Health and Social Services, and Justice; and,
(2) to ensure that the social inclusion strategy is acted upon by all departments in the Yukon government.
THAT this House urges the minister responsible for the Women’s Directorate to immediately act upon the documented need for additional second-stage housing for abused women in Whitehorse by:
(1) consulting with her colleagues, the Minister of Health and Social Services and the minister responsible for the Yukon Housing Corporation, on the need for second-stage housing;
(2) determining the best possible response to the accommodation needed;
(3) submitting and supporting a recommendation to her Cabinet colleagues on the construction of second-stage housing;
(4) advertising for a request for proposals for the recommended housing; and
(5) beginning this process at the earliest possible moment.
THAT it is the opinion of this House that the Government of Canada should address the many troubling and alarming investments of Canadians’ retirement dollars the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has made into war, environmental abuses and human rights violations around the world by:
(1) appointing a labour and civil society representative to the CPPIB;
(2) requiring the CPPIB to adhere to its socially responsible investment policy for proxy voting;
(3) reviewing the composition of the CPPIB to address and resolve conflicts of interest of current board members;
(4) introducing legal and ethical screening legislation so that CPPIB investments are in compliance with international and domestic laws, as well as existing treaties; and
(5) ending the use of the CPP as a tool for privatizing public services in Canada and internationally.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to implement a guaranteed minimum annual income allowance for all eligible Yukon citizens as recommended by Conservative Party Senator Hugh Segal, the Royal Commission on the Status of Women, the Macdonald Commission, the National Council of Welfare, the Special Senate Committee on Poverty and the federal working paper on social security, which would:
(1) expand human dignity;
(2) end poverty;
(3) save on the costs of hospitals, prisons and police work;
(4) eliminate or significantly reduce the burden on the social assistance system;
(5) be recoverable through the personal income tax systems for those earning over a certain amount; and
(6) simplify administration and reduce administrative costs.
WHEREAS the current minimum wage of $8.93 is not a living wage and is inadequate to meet even basic needs;
WHEREAS on April 1, 2010, the minimum wage was increased by $0.04 an hour, as per the regulation tying it to the consumer price index;
WHEREAS the cost of living is far higher in the Yukon and the minimum wage should reflect this reality;
WHEREAS Yukon’s minimum wage is the fifth lowest of Canadian provinces and territories; and
WHEREAS the minimum wage in Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan is higher than in the Yukon;
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to immediately raise the minimum wage to at least $10 hour per hour.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to honour its commitment to the Substance Abuse Action Plan by immediately establishing the proposed community harm reduction fund and implementing policies of harm reduction for addictions programs which will:
(1) minimize harmful consequences for addictions;
(2) provide humane and practical help for addicted persons;
(3) reduce high risk behaviour;
(4) assist in reducing long-term costs of health care
(5) increase support for high-risk young women;
(6) improve alcohol and drug education in Yukon schools;
(7) increase counselling services for youth; and
(8) provide more resources to support communities to develop plans to identify and combat particular factors that contribute to substance abuse.
THAT this House do issue an order for the return of:
(1) the operating plan for the new emergency youth shelter on Jeckell Street in Whitehorse;
(2) the intake procedure for the new emergency youth shelter on Jeckell Street in Whitehorse;
(3) the programs available at the new emergency youth shelter on Jeckell Street in Whitehorse;
(4) the staffing requirements at the new emergency youth shelter on Jeckell Street in Whitehorse;
(5) the operating budget at the new emergency youth shelter on Jeckell Street in Whitehorse; and
(6) a summary of the consultations prior to establishing the new emergency youth shelter on Jeckell Street in Whitehorse.
THAT this House urges the chair and CEO of the Yukon Hospital Corporation to appear as witnesses before the Yukon Legislative Assembly during the fall 2010 sitting in order to shed light on:
(1) the decision to increase remuneration levels for board members;
(2) recent revelations of increased projected palliative care needs in the Yukon;
(3) the financing and planning of a $40-million to $50-million Whitehorse General Hospital expansion; and
(4) staffing decisions, particularly the reliance on nurses from out-of-territory on short-term contracts.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to:
(1) provide the chair and the board of the Yukon Hospital Corporation with an annual letter of expectation that provides the hospital board with a written mandate and articulates the expectations of the Minister of Health and Social Services for the board, as well as the minister’s obligations to the Hospital Corporation, in order to improve accountability and transparency; and
(2) he table the letter of expectation annually in the Legislative Assembly.
I also give notice of the following motion:
THAT this House urges the Yukon government and the Yukon Hospital Corporation to develop a long-term strategy to retain registered nurses, reduce absenteeism and ensure that their working environments are personally and professionally supportive, by:
(1) hiring a full complement of permanent nursing staff;
(2) offering them more stability in their work practice and scheduling;
(3) hiring local nurses on a preferential basis;
(4) reviewing the ratio of management to staff;
(5) removing non-nursing tasks;
(6) providing more support staff;
(7) ensuring that the appropriate technology is provided; and
(8) effectively organizing services.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to review our tax regime and begin a comprehensive discussion with all Yukoners on whether our current taxation rates and existing tax credits are achieving important goals such as:
(1) stimulating key industries to create green jobs;
(2) reducing carbon emissions linked to climate change;
(3) reducing child poverty;
(4) shrinking the gap between the rich and the poor; and
(5) generating a greater share of own-source revenue.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to respond to the 2007 Report Card on Child and Family Poverty in Canada by urging the Government of Canada to improve federal income programs for poor and working poor, by setting minimum targets of:
(1) a 25-percent reduction in the child poverty rate over the next five years; and
(2) a 50-percent reduction over 10 years,
in order to:
(1) act on a unanimous House of Commons resolution in 1989 to reduce child poverty by the year 2000, which has consistently been ignored by both Liberal and Conservative governments; and
(2) lift thousands of children out of poverty, thereby benefiting our whole society.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to support the construction and operation of facilities with supported living specifically for adults affected by fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, in order to provide:
(1) the protection and security to assist them in their day-to-day living;
(2) counselling and practical advice for them, their families and friends;
(3) a source of public education about FASD; and
(4) a healthy alternative to incarceration or living on the streets.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to immediately recognize the vital nurturing role of Yukon grandparents and extended families who are actively parenting children related to them, in their own homes, without compensation, and who are financially unable to seek custody or access to their kin, by:
(1) developing a policy for realistic financial compensation, similar to rates paid to foster homes for grandparents and extended families parenting their kin; and
(2) introducing into the Legislative Assembly legislation that defines a distinct process for grandparents applying to the court for access or custody of their kin.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to immediately foster a public dialogue and seek advice in developing a fair, coherent and principled approach for compensating claim holders when public lands are withdrawn from mineral staking for wilderness areas, recreation, residential or other uses important to Yukoners.
THAT this House urges the Minister of Health and Social Services to immediately respond to the current crisis in First Nations’ child welfare by working cooperatively in a government-to-government relationship with the First Nations involved in order to:
(1) come to an agreed-upon, workable plan to solve the problems on both sides;
(2) express the intent of the Child and Family Services Act;
(3) proceed with respect for the First Nations’ self-government agreements;
(4) establish with all First Nations a future cooperative working relationship; and
(5) support and protect all children in the Yukon.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to support Bill C-545, titled An Act to Eliminate Poverty in Canada, sponsored by the New Democratic Party of Canada and presently before the House of Commons, in order to establish a national poverty elimination strategy that will:
(1) make income security, housing and social inclusion priorities;
(2) be based in a strong human rights framework;
(3) measure poverty;
(4) deal with factors that put some at greater risk than others;
(5) have health and income security ministers take the lead;
(6) establish a stronger, renewed National Council on Welfare to be called the National Council on Poverty and Social Inclusion; and,
(7) establish an independent poverty elimination commissioner to monitor and hold government accountable for the elimination of poverty in Canada.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to support Bill C-304, An Act to ensure secure, adequate, accessible and affordable housing for Canadians, which is sponsored by the New Democratic Party of Canada and is presently before the House of Commons, in order to require the minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to:
(1) consult with the provincial and territorial ministers responsible for municipal affairs and housing; and,
(2) consult with representatives of municipalities, aboriginal communities, non-profit and private sector housing providers and civil society organizations;
in order to establish a national housing strategy.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to immediately table a housing adequacy report and a housing and poverty indicators report completed earlier this year, as they contain detailed statistical information, including a survey of Yukoners, needed to make informed policy decisions to address the territory’s housing needs.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to immediately — rather than “as soon as possible” — appoint a member of the Yukon Party caucus to the Select Committee on Bill No. 108, Legislative Renewal Act.
THAT this House urges the Parliament of Canada to pass Bill C-300, An Act respecting Corporate Accountability for the Activities of Mining, Oil or Gas in Developing Countries, a private member’s bill standing in the name of Hon. John McKay, MP, and currently before the House of Commons, in order to ensure that:
(1) Canadian extractive companies follow human rights and environmental practices when they operate overseas;
(2) the accountability of the Government of Canada to Canadian taxpayers is maintained; and
(3) government financial and political support will not be provided to companies that breach human rights or environmental standards.
THAT this House do issue an order for the return of all documents that outline the process, scope and time frame of the recently launched Our Towns, Our Future review, including any backgrounders and discussion documents.
THAT this House calls on the Government of Canada to be transparent about the actual details and substance of negotiations with the European Union on the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement , known as “CETA”; and
THAT the Government of Canada provide clear assurances that it will not trade away the authority of local governments to use procurement to achieve economic, social, environmental sustainability and other valid public policy goals.
THAT this House urges the Government of Canada to reinstate the popular ecoEnergy retrofit program as it:
(1) helps Canadians afford to make their homes and businesses more energy efficient; and
(2) helps Canadians, who want to do something concrete to combat climate change, reduce their carbon footprint.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to support the Canadian Bar Association resolution calling on the federal, provincial and territorial governments of Canada to develop policies designed to assist and enhance the lives of those people born with a permanent organic brain injury which results in a cognitive disorder known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, by:
(1) allocating additional resources for alternatives to the current practice of criminalizing individuals with FASD, and directing Yukon’s Minister of Justice to urge her federal, provincial and territorial counterparts to persuade their respective governments to do the same, and;
(2) urging the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of justice to engage in a dialogue with the Canadian Bar Association regarding amending criminal sentencing laws to accommodate the disability of those with FASD.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to convene a mining best practices summit to bring together industry, other levels of government and the general public to develop a coordinated and comprehensive approach to the increased mining activity in the territory in order that Yukon can take a planned approach to:
(1) maximizing socio-economic benefits through modernized royalty and tax regimes and enhanced local employment and training opportunities;
(2) strengthening our regulatory regimes, including water quality standards, reclamation policies and other related land-management issues;
(3) minimizing environmental liabilities by supporting best practices approaches to modern mining technologies;
(4) reducing rates of injury and death through strengthening our occupational health and safety regime, as well as increasing our mine rescue preparedness capacity; and
THAT this summit be held before the 2011 fall sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
THAT this House recognizes that the antiquated free-entry system allows for mineral staking to happen virtually anywhere;
THAT there are hundreds of active claims within the City of Whitehorse, covering about one-third of the city, including residential neighbourhoods and recreational areas, like Whitehorse’s world-class cross-country ski trails; and
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to listen to the City of Whitehorse’s call for a temporary mineral-staking ban within the city limits while the city and its citizens determine which areas are appropriate for mining.
THAT this House urges the Government of Canada to immediately issue orders-in-council appointing a 12-person board of directors to the Canadian Polar Commission in order that:
(1) this federal advisory body, which was created in 1991 and has been without a board of directors since October 2008, can continue its important work of monitoring, promoting and disseminating scientific research on Canada’s Arctic; and
(2) Canada’s lead polar research agency can ensure public funds are not misspent and opportunities are not missed in the field of northern research.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to extend the position of Ombudsman and Privacy Commissioner from half time to full-time, as has been recommended several times by incumbents in the position, in order to:
(1) respond adequately to the public’s demands for service;
(2) allow the position sufficient time to find creative solutions to problems in the public service;
(3) give the public access to records in a more timely manner;
(4) prevent the unauthorized collection, use, and disclosure of personal information that may not be brought to the attention of the position due to work overload; and
(5) allow the position adequate time to educate the public about this important service.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to express support for changes in the Veterans Charter to reflect the honourable service of Canada’s sons and daughters, specifically to:
(1) end the widows tax on survivors;
(2) end the lump sum payment for new veterans;
(3) provide security through lifetime pensions commensurate with the injury sustained;
(4) end the clawback on pensions;
(5) treat Agent Orange victims fairly; and
(6) give compassionate care to veterans who suffer psychologically from service for their country.
THAT this House urges the Government of Canada to live up to its obligation to withdraw all troops from Afghanistan in 2011 as promised and not to support an unjust and undeclared war through the pretense of training Afghan troops.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to investigate and address issues of legislative discrimination against persons aged 60 to 65 based on marital status, as recommended by the Health and Social Services Council, particularly where there is no access to benefits by those who are 60 unless they have a spouse who is 65.
THAT this House urges the Yukon government to move quickly on building an electronic health record system, as recommended by the Health and Social Services Council, beginning with a pharmacy system in order to
(1) allow pharmacists and other medical professionals to share prescription and other health information across the territory;
(2) track the misuse of certain prescriptions; and
(3) enable physicians to access their patients’ accurate medical history.