The Yukon Legislative Assembly’s Special Committee on Electoral Reform will be holding virtual public hearings with expert witnesses January 21 through 31, 2022.
On May 26, 2021, the Yukon Legislative Assembly adopted Motion No. 61, thereby establishing the Special Committee on Electoral Reform. The committee’s purpose, or mandate, as set out in the motion, is to examine electoral reform and report to the Legislative Assembly its findings and recommendations. Motion No. 61 also empowered the committee “to conduct public hearings” and “to call for persons, papers, and records”. The committee must complete its work by the 2022 Fall Sitting of the Legislative Assembly.
In its study of potential changes to the voting system, the committee is seeking input from subject matter experts. Given the ongoing pandemic and the short timeline for the committee’s work, the Special Committee on Electoral Reform is conducting its public hearings with expert witnesses by videoconference.
The schedule for the hearings will be as follows:
Friday, January 21, 2022
3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Topic: Options for Yukon’s electoral system
Witness: Keith Archer, Committee Researcher
Monday, January 24, 2022
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Topic: Electoral reform in British Columbia
Witness: R. Kenneth Carty, Professor Emeritus of Political Science, University of British Columbia
Tuesday, January 25, 2022
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Topic: Elections Yukon
Witness: Maxwell Harvey, Chief Electoral Officer, Elections Yukon
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Topic: Electoral reform in New Brunswick
Witness: Joanna Everitt, Professor of Political Science, University of New Brunswick
Wednesday, January 26, 2022
10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Topic: Electoral reform in Prince Edward Island
Witness: Donald Desserud, Professor of Political Science, University of Prince Edward Island
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Topic: Fair Vote Canada
Witnesses:
Anita Nickerson, Executive Director, Fair Vote Canada
Gisela Ruckert, Board Member, Fair Vote Canada
Thursday, January 27, 2022
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Topic: Current electoral system
Witness: Peter Loewen, Director, Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, University of Toronto
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Topic: Electoral reform in New Zealand
Witness: Theresa Arseneault, Adjunct Senior Fellow, University of Canterbury
Friday, January 28, 2022
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Topic: Electoral reform in New Brunswick
Witness: Paul Howe, Professor of Political Science, University of New Brunswick
Monday, January 31, 2022
1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Topic: Options for Yukon’s electoral system
Witness: Keith Archer, Committee Researcher
Members of the public may watch the hearings live through a link on the committee’s webpage (https://yukonassembly.ca/SCER) or on the Legislative Assembly’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/yukonlegislativeassembly). The hearings will also be broadcast live on 93.5 FM.
Following the hearings, transcripts and recordings will be available on the committee’s webpage.
More information on the committee, including the motion establishing the committee and meeting minutes, is available at https://yukonassembly.ca/SCER
For more information, please contact:
Allison Lloyd, Clerk to the Special Committee on Electoral Reform
Allison.Lloyd@yukon.ca
Phone: 867-667-5494