Latest news with #MembersServicesBoard
CBC
04-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Judge rules Yukon gov't has power to edit budgets of independent officers
The Yukon Supreme Court has ruled the territorial government did nothing wrong by changing the budgets of independent offices of the Legislative Assembly after those budgets were already approved by an assembly committee. In an oral decision issued Monday, Justice Edith Campbell ruled the territory's Financial Administration Act takes precedence over the enabling legislation for the ombudsman and the child and youth advocate. Those two offices brought a petition against the government over the finance department's decision to change the budgets of the offices after they'd already been approved by the assembly's Members Services Board, which has historically had final say. The petitioners had argued that giving the finance minister effective veto power over their budgets left them open to potential political interference. Government lawyers said the Financial Administration Act gives the government the authority to oversee every penny it spends, even it goes to agencies considered arm's-length from the government. The Financial Administration Act contains what's called a paramountcy clause. It means the act outweighs any other territorial law in the event of a conflict. Campbell said she agreed with the petitioners argument that the Ombudsman Act and Child And Youth Advocate are written in a way that aims to preserve the offices' independence from government. But Campbell also found no language in those acts that explicitly exempts them from the Financial Administration Act. That, Campbell ruled, created a conflict and therefore the Financial Administration Act takes precedence. Still, Campbell said the independent officers brought an important issue before the courts. And she urged the government to amend the law to ensure the independent offices are truly independent. Ombudsman Jason Pedlar said he's disappointed with the ruling, though he understands Campbell's reasoning. "I think we will be presenting to the Member Services Board the need for the clarity," he said. "This is just a technicality, a conflict of the acts, and we want our Ombudsman Act and Child and Youth Advocate Act amended as soon as possible to deal with the issue." Annette King, the child and youth advocate, likewise tried to look on the bright side of the decision. "We've been dealing with uncertainty in our budgets for the last several months and we needed this decision to be able to know our next steps forward in this path," King said. "Now we do know it's up to the Legislative Assembly to correct the gaps in the legislation. It was really validating to hear the judge describe the intention of our legislation as oversight bodies and the risks to that independence." In a written statement, a spokesperson with the cabinet office said the government is pleased with the decision.
CBC
02-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Ruling expected Monday in Yukon court case with major implications for government
A case in front of the Yukon Supreme Court has major implications for the territorial government, regardless of who wins. The Yukon's ombudsman and child and youth advocate filed a petition seeking a court order that would undo changes to their offices' budgets imposed by officials with the finance department. Justice Edith Campbell is expected to deliver her decision Monday. Over two days of arguments this past week, lawyers for both sides plumbed the most arcane depths of the law. At the heart of the dispute is a conflict between the executive branch of government (also known as cabinet) and the legislative branch. Historically, the budgets of independent officers have been approved by the Members Services Board, a five-member, all-party committee of the legislature that manages the assembly's affairs. That's because the legislative assembly as a whole and the government are not the same thing. Shauna Stikeman, who's representing the child and youth advocate, argued the legislation that established the ombudsman office clearly set out a budgeting process that is meant to keep the office free from political interference from the government. Allowing the finance minister to muck about with those budgets, she said, opens up the risk that governments could punish the independent officers when they issue findings the government doesn't like. "Any erosion of this trust risks eroding public confidence in these institutions," Stikeman said. "This is about so much more than dollars and cents." Lawyers for the government, meanwhile, say the territory's Financial Administration Act takes clear precedence and requires that every dime of public funds must pass through, and be approved by, the finance department's Management Board. "There is no category of money out there that isn't captured by the Financial Administration Act," said government lawyer I.H. Fraser. Fraser also tried to squeeze the petitioners' case between two other legal principles. For one thing, he argued, the officers' budgets are now shielded from court action by parliamentary privilege, a unique set of rights that extends to the assembly and its members. While parliamentary privilege normally applies to actions within the assembly, Fraser said privilege also applies to bills that are in the process of being drafted (in this case, the territorial budget). "If you're in the legislative process, then parliamentary privilege applies," he told Campbell this week. "There's nothing a court can properly do about it." At the same time, Fraser said the petitioners' case is premature because the legislature has yet to sit — the spring session begins March 6 — and finalize the budget. Floyd McCormick, the clerk of the Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2019, said the case shows the need for clearer rules to protect the assembly's independence. "Regardless of how it turns out, whether the ombudsman and the child and youth advocate are successful or not, the legislature needs to change legislation in order to make sure that it's clear that Member Services Board authority is distinct from that of the Department of Finance," he said. McCormick, who was in the courtroom for two days of arguments, acknowledged he supports the independent officers in the case. But he said the issues at play are important and, to him at least, interesting. "You have one side making their arguments and you feel that's pretty solid. And then the other side gets up and make arguments and well, you know, these people have a good point too," he said.
