The Coroners Act came about in 1958, and has not been substantially updated since then.  We know the public wants us to make sure that all unexplained or unexpected deaths in Yukon are investigated thoroughly by coroners who work in a professional, efficient and impartial Coroner’s Service. This can only be done if we update the Coroners Act to create modern legislation that is up-to-date to similar laws in other jurisdictions.

We are proposing an update to the Quartz Mining Act to advance reconciliation. The changes would allow First Nations to stake quartz mineral claims on specific land that is withdrawn from staking. The changes will also provide opportunities to remediate some of Yukon’s abandoned Type II mine sites. 

The Government of Yukon is creating a lobbyist registry to make lobbying activities more transparent to the public. We want to establish a mandatory, publicly accessible registry that is similar to what other jurisdictions in Canada have.

A lobbyist registry identifies who is lobbying the government and what issues they bring forward.

A recent study on air quality in Whitehorse found four neighbourhoods (Kopper King, Hidden Valley, Range Road North and Riverdale) had higher levels of pollution during cold winter months when air gets trapped in valleys.

The study suggested this was due to residential wood smoke.

Wood smoke can irritate lungs and airways, make it harder to breathe and worsen chronic conditions (such as heart disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and asthma). Children, seniors and people with chronic conditions are more susceptible to air pollution.

We want to know how we can support Yukoners to continue to heat their homes with wood while ensuring that wood is burned in the cleanest way possible.

The Government of Canada made changes to family caregiving and parental leave benefits under the federal Employment Insurance program.  

Yukon, as with most other jurisdictions, typically provides leave periods that align with the benefits provided under Canada’s Employment Insurance program. Yukon is considering making changes to the amount of parental leave and leave for people to care for critically ill family members. We wanted to know if Yukoners have any concerns or feedback on these changes.

The Government of Yukon is working to regulate, fund and integrate midwifery into Yukon’s healthcare system. Our goal as a government is to provide Yukoners additional options within a range of healthcare services that support healthy pregnancies, birthing experiences, and care after childbirth.

The plan we presented to participants during the engagement proposed the following:

• Initially introducing regulated midwife-attended births and pre- and post-natal services (before and after childbirth) as an option in Whitehorse, where processes and emergency services that support pregnancies and birth are already in place. These supports include physicians with birthing expertise and facilities that can support urgent interventions, such as blood transfusions and Caesarean sections.
• Initially introducing some regulated pre- and post-natal midwifery services in other communities.
• Identifying options to potentially support similar services in Dawson City and Watson Lake.

There are approximately 700 known contaminated sites in Yukon. The contamination on these sites can range from very small (such as a leak from a fuel tank on a house) to very large (such as large-scale chemical spills).

The Contaminated Site Regulation establishes cleanup standards, processes for identifying, investigating and assessing contaminated sites, and permits for managing contaminated material within Yukon. The Spills Regulation sets reporting standards for spills of contaminants. 

We want to improve our democracy and we wanted your input to make sure we head in the right direction.

In fall 2018 we asked what issues are most important to you when it comes to how Yukoners make their voices heard, the system we use to elect territorial governments, and how territorial political parties and elected officials work.

In spring 2019 we will strike an independent commission on electoral reform. We will ask it to work on the priorities Yukoners have identified and to make recommendations to us in a final report in late fall 2019.

Download the electoral reform information pamphlet.

Guided by the Supreme Court of Canada decision, the five parties worked collaboratively to complete, approve and implement a Regional Land Use Plan for the Peel Watershed that reflects the objectives of the Final Agreements. The first step is this final round of community engagement, which had two objectives:

1. All Yukoners and stakeholders will have the opportunity to gain a better understanding of the Final Recommended Plan and suggest possible minor modifications to improve the Plan given changing circumstances.
2. The affected governments will receive informed advice on changing circumstances in the Peel watershed and suggestions for minor modifications focussed on improving and operationalizing the final recommended plan.

After this consultation was complete, the parties consulted with each other. The goal of this consultation was to achieve a shared position on the plan. Then the parties worked together to approve and implement a Final Regional Land Use Plan for the Peel Watershed.

We asked the public and members of the film and media industries to help us review our film funding programs. A lot has changed for the industry since the funding programs were created more than a decade ago. We are ready for an updated approach that helps Yukon film and media producers to stay competitive in today’s market.