5 things to watch in the Yukon Legislature's spring sitting

The Yukon Legislative Assembly re-convenes this week to beginthe spring sitting.

Premier Sandy Silver's Liberal government is now in the second year of its mandate, and the sitting will begin on Thursday with the introduction of the budget.

Here's some of the key things to keep an eye on in the weeks ahead.

Public dollars:deficit, debt, development?

It's been said before, but bears repeating:Yukon is unusually dependent onterritorial government spending, which in turn is some would say unhealthily dependent upon federal transfer payments.

Last year's territorial budget of $1.4billion carried a forecast surplus of $6.5 million. Over three-quarters of the total budget came from the federal coffers.

We'll see if Silver is adopting any or all of the recommendations of the financial advisory panel, which delivered its final report late last year. Silver equivocated when asked at the end of the fall sitting where his preferences lay.

The rubber hits the road, though, on budget daywhen Yukoners can see where the Liberals plan to take them.

Last year, the government wasprojectinga double-digit deficit.

So what's that sound you hear coming from the basement ofthe government building?That would be the opposition, sharpening itsknives.

Carbon tax

Thisissue is near and dear to the opposition Yukon Party, and since the implementation of the carbon tax is inching ever closer, we can expect a lot of questions on what it will look like for Yukoners, and more importantly, how residents, businesses and industry will be rebated.

Recall that during the 2016 election campaign, Silver pledged that all carbon tax money collected in Yukon would bereturned to Yukoners.

Both the Yukon Party and NDP will clamourto see analysis of the potential impacts of the tax. We haven't seen anything specific from the Yukon government, and without a doubt carbon tax will impact every Yukoner,especially those in rural communitieswho may be wondering how much the tax will add to the cost of a trip to town.

The federal government has already recognized that remote northern residents are at a disadvantage when it comes to low carbon footprint choices. One thing is sure:there'll be a lot of heat generated in the Legislature over this sitting.

Hospitals, home care, health costs

Expect fierce debate to continue on shortages in the health care sphere.

Last fall, both Yukon Party and NDP opposition members grilled Health Minister Pauline Frost on the lack of hospital and extended care beds, the urgent need for more home care for rural Yukoners, and the resulting toll when people can't be accommodated because of bed shortages.

Yukon's population continues to age.By 2030, over 15 per cent of the population is expected to be 66 years and older.

The Whistle Bend extended care facility is slated to open this fall. As the largest capital project ever undertaken in the territory, the facilityis going to gobble up a sizeable portion of the capital budget. It also needs staff an estimated 200-250 workers, ranging from cooks and custodians to nurses and physiotherapists.

That's not only a substantial ongoing cost, but a tall order to fillconsidering the territory already struggles toattractnurses, especially to rural communities.

And speaking of pressing rural needs, just where are those 11 mental health workers promised in last year's budget?

Minister Frost mayagain be in the opposition's crosshairs. Here's hoping that her briefing binder has some answers, and that she reads it.

Roads, internet, energy

Infrastructure covers a lot of bases everything from highways and buildings, to fibreoptic lines and hydroelectric production and transmission.

Look for solid commitments that is, tenders for the resource roads funding announced last Septemberby Ottawa and Yukon ($360 million in total);look for some intense debate about our energy future, especially as the Yukon government takes a thorough look at Yukon Energy's books, and has also floated the idea of connecting to the B.C. power grid; and look for some real movement on the second fibreoptic line into the territory.

We'llalso see whetherthe premier has allotted dollars for paving the Dawson City airport runway (something also promised by his predecessor). Questions remain about the angle of the approach, which paving won't fix.

Then there's the serious "fixer-uppers"the Liberals must tend to: the Ross River school, the Dawson City rec centre, the Dawson wastewater treatment facility these all come with some hefty price tags.

Consultation

Consultationwas a big piece of the Liberal campaign platform in fact, their platform document was entitled "Be Heard".

The Liberalspromised "evidence-based decision making,"and to give Yukoners an opportunity to weigh in on decisions.

Silver also committed to listening to oppositionMLAs, and to adopt any good ideas they propose.

The opposition iskeeping track of failures on the consultation file, and we can expect a volley of questionspinpointing where Silver and his team have dropped the ball.

So far, the Liberal cabinet has given themample fodder. Here's a few: the Public Airports Act, changes to the Designated Materials Regulations, the Porter Creek group home, a downtown Housing First facility, location of the government's cannabis retail outlet.

And while Bill C-17, the corrective to Bill S-6, is a federal bill, the Yukon government got involved by signing a collaborativeframework last spring, which promised to give industry a voice. Industry is rumbling that hasn't come to pass.

Above all, Yukoners will be watching Silver to see some specific, clear leadership on the financial path forward.Industry, First Nations, municipalities, NGOs and citizens all gamely participated in the advisory panel exercise.

That completed, Silver demurred on providing specifics at the end of the fall sitting, saying hisplan would be forthcoming.

Time's up.