Latest news with #Bill310
CBC
03-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Spring sitting ends at Yukon Legislative Assembly with passage of $2.3B budget
Social Sharing The Yukon Legislative Assembly's spring sitting ended Thursday with MLAs passing the 2025-26 budget, which the Liberal government says includes record spending on health care, more money for police, and for communities. The government says the $2.3-billion budget includes historic investments that will respond to the needs of a rapidly-growing territory. "We are now experiencing here what many jurisdictions have been experiencing for a long time," Premier Ranj Pillai said Thursday, referring to concerns about public safety amid a drug crisis and rise in gun violence. "You need to ensure that you have the right social supports and social nets in place." The budget includes nearly $30 million in transfers to municipalities through the Comprehensive Municipal Grant. There's also money for Yukon RCMP, and for the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods (SCAN) unit. Other major investments are being made in education, housing, and health care. "I think we all know this is a challenge across the country," Pillai said about the health care system. "Making sure that we are hiring more individuals to work in the health-care sector, making sure that the Yukon Hospital Corporation has the money they need, finishing off the infrastructure that's required for supports for mental health, I think is incredibly important." The budget passed with support from the NDP while the Yukon Party voted against it. "Ultimately, we're doing what Yukoners tasked us to do which is, they asked us to work together," NDP Leader Kate White said Thursday. "They asked us to prioritize their needs and their wants. And that's what we've done. And even though it has been tough, because it is not an easy process, you know, we've stood by that commitment." White also touted her party's role in many initiatives, through the confidence and supply agreement with the Liberals. She pointed to the new walk-in clinic in Whitehorse, as well as Blood Ties Four Directions' safe consumption site, and the managed alcohol program as NDP-driven initiatives. The NDP also introduced Bill 310, which gives the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) bargaining rights and establishes processes for dispute resolution and binding arbitration. "We're going to get a lot of the government telling us now that they would have done it without us, but they had already been a majority government like, prior to the 2020 election and they hadn't done it," White said. "So they can say now that was always a priority — but they hadn't done it. And so ... we'll take full credit." The Yukon Party also managed to get some motions passed during the spring sitting, including one calling on the government to recruit American doctors and another to cut red tape for them. "We tried our best to raise concerns that we've heard from both health professionals and patients who are experiencing huge problems with our healthcare system right now," said Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon. The Yukon Party also passed a motion that eventually forced the court-appointed receiver for Victoria Gold Corp., the mining company responsible for the environmental disaster at the Eagle Gold Mine in June 2024, to testify before MLAs. Legislation passed The legislature also passed several pieces of legislation during this sitting, including: The Residential Tenancies Act, to replace the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. The new act legislates the elimination of no-cause evictions and creates a rent cap system for the Yukon that's tied to inflation. Changes to the Income Tax Act, to bring in a tax credit for fertility treatment. Modernizing the Child Care Act, in which Yukon's early childhood educators and the process for their certification are recognized in law for the first time. It also outlines how childhood educators must be paid. The Inclusive Yukon Family Act, to modernize laws to recognize diverse family structures and provide more inclusive parentage recognition. It's not clear whether there will be another sitting of this assembly before the next election, which must happen on or before November 3. Pillai says Elections Yukon is still working to set the new riding boundaries. Meanwhile, the premier and Dixon both hinted at a fiercely competitive election campaign to come. Dixon said his party has been "speaking up for Yukoners" in the legislature, especially around issues such as the shortage of health-care workers, problems with the Whitehorse emergency shelter, and barriers to housing construction. He believes Yukoners are ready for something different after nine years of Liberal government in the territory. "They're going to want to see a change from what they've been getting right now," Dixon at the end of the sitting on Thursday.
CBC
24-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
NDP bill giving Yukon Medical Association bargaining rights, dispute resolution passes
A Yukon NDP private member's bill, touted by the party as being transformative for the territory's health-care system, passed third reading in the Yukon Legislative Assembly last week. Bill 310, introduced by NDP Leader Kate White, gives the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) representational rights and establishes processes for dispute resolution and binding arbitration. MLAs unanimously passed the Act Respecting the Yukon Medical Association on April 16. It will take effect on Jan. 1. Granting the YMA representational rights means the organization will become the sole bargaining agent for the territory's physicians on matters of compensation. Historically, the YMA could only negotiate with the Yukon government on behalf of doctors being paid on the fee-for-service model. Doctors who wanted to be paid through contracts would have to negotiate on their own. The YMA has said contracts now comprise more than half of physician remuneration. White called the passing of the legislation a "monumental occasion" in the Yukon. In a phone interview after third reading, she said the impact likely won't be obvious to Yukoners. However, she said the law will make the territory more competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining physicians. "Hopefully we're going to see some more clinics open, or certainly fewer clinics close. Hopefully we see some of these locums who've come through decide to stay," White said. Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee spoke in favour of the bill before third reading, saying it was a part of the government's work with doctors to improve the healthcare system and an opportunity to modernize it. "We have all inherited a health-care system that is more than 70 or 80 years old. Even if it's considered to be post-World War II, it's extremely old and it is based on a system that has not had a lot of evolution or changes over that period of time," McPhee said. The Yukon Party's health critic Brad Cathers also spoke about the need for change. "The fact is, for many decades, the fee-for-service model had almost all doctors practising under it, and in the last eight years, there has been a shift to more operating under alternative payment models, which makes this legislation necessary to address the situation," Cathers said. White's bill reached a final reading as a condition of the confidence and supply agreement between the NDP and governing Liberals. As the bill made its way through the legislature, the party toggled between presenting itself as a champion for physicians in the face of a reluctant opposition, while also conceding that assistance from the Liberals and Yukon Party made its advance possible. That contrast was pointed out by McPhee, who noted "hours of collaboration" to improve the legislation. She cited an NDP Facebook post on March 31 that nonetheless said it still needed to "convince" the other two parties to support the bill. White's response was that she never received a formal commitment of the Liberals' support until April 4. With the vote behind her, White credited the minority government for the cross-party collaboration. She also took pride in what the NDP accomplished. "I was very generous with my gratitude to the other parties. But ultimately Bill 310 came forward and it came to the floor and it was there because the Yukon NDP was willing to do the work and was willing to work with our partners at the Yukon Medical Association," she said.
CBC
05-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Yukon MLAs debate bill that medical association says could be 'transformative'
The Yukon Medical Association remains "cautiously optimistic" MLAs will pass a "transformative" bill for the healthcare system, one that now has the backing of two parties in the legislature. Bill 310 would give the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) representational rights, making it the sole bargaining agent for doctors on matters of compensation. The legislation would also establish dispute resolution and binding arbitration for doctors. The NDP private members' bill was debated during Committee of the Whole on Wednesday. During debate, leader Kate White mostly took questions about the bill from Liberal MLAs, lasting until the House adjourned for the day. As part of its confidence and supply agreement with the governing Liberals, the NDP is allowed one bill to reach a final vote per sitting. Dr. Derek Bryant, president of the YMA, wanted to see the bill pass that day. But he was encouraged to hear during debate that the Yukon Party will support the legislation. "I'm allowing myself to hope that this will pass, because I really do think that all parties will see that this achieves the goals that any government should be striving for, which is to coordinate the healthcare system and just create more transparency and accountability in the system," Bryant said. "I'm also a physician, so I always hope for the best and plan for the worst. And that's essentially my approach to this legislation right now. I'm hopeful and I am truly optimistic." Bryant said he and his colleagues are watching "really closely" as the bill makes progress through the legislative process. He said doctors have been calling for the government to grant representational rights and dispute resolution since at least 2021. He said the YMA was unable to negotiate them into its Memorandum of Understanding with the government in 2022. The YMA meets with the different party leaders to discuss challenges in the healthcare system and the solutions, Bryant said. When they met with the NDP and identified representational rights and dispute resolution as a priority, he said White suggested they could be obtained through legislation. Bryant said 90 association members wrote letters supporting the legislation, working out to about 85 per cent support. He said the legislation was first written by an NDP drafter who worked with YMA's legal counsel. The draft legislation was shared with both the Yukon Party and the Liberals. Bryant noted that Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee spent much of her personal time suggesting changes to improve it. During debate, McPhee said she directed staff at the Departments of Health and Social Services and Justice "to work intensely to make sure that the product that came before this Legislative Assembly was, in fact, a strong, implementable constitutional piece of law." NDP leader Kate White acknowledged that the initial bill was "recognized as being very rough" and that the party and YMA were open to changes. "It's important to note that the Minister of Health and Social Services has been heavily involved in every step and meeting since that point," she said. Most of the suggestions were adopted by the YMA and NDP before the bill was tabled, Bryant said. He said in some areas, the YMA opted to preserve language in the bill that they believed would secure representational rights and dispute resolution. The earliest that Bill 310 can be considered again is the next opposition Wednesday on April 16.
CBC
01-04-2025
- Health
- CBC
Yukon Medical Association wants to negotiate for all physicians in territory
The Yukon Medical Association (YMA) is pushing for changes to how doctors in the territory negotiate contracts with the government, saying the current system is creating "discord and fragmentation" in the health-care system. Dr. Derek Bryant, president of the YMA, says the goal is to empower his organization to represent all of the territory's physicians when negotiating with the territorial government. That's not happening right now, he says, and it means Yukon is an "outlier" among Canadian jurisdictions when it comes to how doctors are paid. Currently, some Yukon physicians are represented by the YMA, which negotiates with the government to set fee-for-service rates. Other Yukon physicians negotiate their own contracts with the government directly, without any involvement of the YMA. That's created a very "siloed" system, Bryant said. "The result is that there is these inequities across the board in how physicians are paid and how physicians work, that really have a negative impact on what it means to work in the Yukon," Bryant said. He described instances where two physicians who have negotiated separately with the government might end up getting paid differently for the exact same work. "That, you can imagine, just creates a really negative work environment that we think has a very significant impact on recruitment and on retention," he said. Allowing the YMA to represent all physicians will help create a more equitable environment, and will also be more clear and transparent as the YMA's negotiated agreements are public. "People can actually see the results of the negotiations when the Yukon Medical Association and the entire physician community sort of approves what is negotiated." NDP tables bill to make the change On Monday, Yukon NDP Leader Kate White introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly that would allow for the changes the YMA is asking for. Speaking to reporters, White said the other parties have already signalled their support and she's hoping for unanimous approval. "We know that physicians have requested this, and they've been requesting it for a number of years and it hasn't happened. So it's about making sure that the YMA has the power that they need going forward, no matter the government," White said. "Political parties can say that they are interested in working together, but this is an example of actually working together and it's working together to the benefit of the physician community, and the health-care community." Bill 310 would recognize the YMA as the sole bargaining agent for all registered medical practitioners in the territory, and would also establish a dispute resolution process and provisions for binding arbitration. Bryant says the proposed legislation is "exactly what physicians are asking for." "Physicians are not negotiators and individual physicians, you know, don't go into medicine to have to spend the time that it takes to understand legal jargon and negotiate their own individual contracts," he said.
