Yukon passes legislation to make National Aboriginal Day a paid holiday

WHITEHORSE — National Aboriginal Day has officially become a statutory holiday in Yukon.

“It’s great to see,” said Grand Chief Peter Johnston of the Council of Yukon First Nations about June 21 as a territory-wide paid day off.

It’s the first piece of legislation to be passed under the new Liberal government.

The Yukon Party voted in favour of the bill but reiterated concerns about the financial impact of an additional statutory holiday on the government and on the  business community.

Based on figures from Canada Day in 2016, the government said the holiday would cost the government an estimated $1.28 million.

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The figure includes $1.16 million for payroll and an additional $116,700 in overtime pay for essential service providers, cabinet spokeswoman Janine Workman said Tuesday.

Before Monday’s vote, the Yukon Party’s community services critic Scott Kent noted that an economic analysis of the holiday had not been done.

Kent suggested the government consider phasing in the holiday over two years to give businesses time to prepare and to allow municipalities to account for it in their budgets.

The holiday could be a government day off this year and a vacation day for all Yukoners starting in 2018, he said.

The Whitehorse Chamber of Commerce proposed the same idea.

Community Services Minister John Streicker told the house that there is symbolic importance in instituting the holiday during the same year as Canada’s 150th birthday.

“It’s not even about having the day off,” he said. “It’s about formal recognition of the value of indigenous culture and heritage.” (Whitehorse Star)

The Canadian Press