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.

The Liberals will table this year's budget when the assembly reconvenes on Thursday.