Yukon Act

Whereas Yukon is a territory that has a system of responsible government that is similar in principle to that of Canada;And Whereas the enactment of legislation is required to implement certain provisions of the Yukon Northern Affairs Program Devolution Transfer Agreement, negotiated by representatives of certain first nations, the Government of Canada and the Yukon Government;NOW, THEREFORE, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

Short Title

Definitions

Government

Administration of Justice

Real Property, Water, Oil and Gas

Exercise of Federal Powers

Legislative Amendment

Transitional Provisions

Amendments to this Act

Amendments to Other Acts

Coordinating Amendments

Repeals

Coming into Force

Schedule 1 · Description of Yukon (Section 2)

Yukon shall be bounded as follows: On the south, by the Province of British Columbia and the State of Alaska; on the west, by the said State of Alaska; on the north, by that part of the Arctic Ocean called Beaufort Sea; and on the east, by a line beginning at the intersection of the north boundary of British Columbia with a line passing through a boundary pipe post set in concrete, trench and mound, numbered 600, planted by the British Columbia-Yukon-Northwest Territories Boundary Commission approximately 1 chain westerly of the left bank of the Liard River, said line having a bearing of 309 degrees with reference to the meridian through said post; thence northwesterly along said line to a point on the line of watershed separating the streams flowing into the Liard River below the La Biche River or into the Mackenzie River from those flowing into the La Biche River, into the Liard River above the La Biche River, or into the Yukon River; thence northwesterly along said line of watershed to the line of watershed of the basin of Peel River; thence northerly along the line of watershed between the Peel and Mackenzie Rivers to the sixty-seventh degree of north latitude; thence westerly along the parallel of the sixty-seventh degree of north latitude to the line of watershed between the Peel and Yukon Rivers; thence northerly along the said line of watershed to the trail across the portage in McDougall Pass between Rat and Bell Rivers; thence due north to the northern limit of the Yukon territory; the said territory to include the islands within twenty statute miles from the shores of the Beaufort Sea as far as the aforesaid due north line from McDougall Pass.

Schedule 2 · Northern Limit of Adjoining Area (Section 2)

All topographic features referred to below are according to the Gazetteer of Canada (Yukon Territory), Fifth Edition, Ottawa, 1988, and Canadian Hydrographic Service Charts 7661 (Demarcation Bay to Phillips Bay, 21st edition) and 7662 (Mackenzie Bay, 33rd edition), produced at a scale of 1:150,000 by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at Ottawa.A line following the ordinary low water mark of the northern coast of the mainland of the Yukon territory, except(a) at any coastal indentation such as a bay, lagoon, arm, cove, basin or other inlet: a straight line across the entrance of the indentation at the ordinary low water mark, provided(i) the line measures 4 kilometres or less, and(ii) the area of the indentation, including any islands or parts of islands lying within the indentation, is greater than that of a semicircle whose diameter is the straight line;(b) at Phillips Bay: a straight line from the most easterly point on the ordinary low water mark on the northwesterly extremity of the entrance of the said Bay near Stokes Point to the most northwesterly point on the ordinary low water mark on the northeasterly extremity of the entrance of the said Bay near Kay Point; and(c) at Shoalwater Bay: a straight line from the most northeasterly point on the ordinary low water mark on the westerly extremity of the entrance of the said Bay to the most westerly point on the ordinary low water mark on the easterly extremity of the entrance of the said Bay.

Amendments not in force

— 2002, c. 7, s. 69 [in force but has not yet had its effect]Subsection 22(1) of this Act is renumbered as section 22 and subsections 22(2) and (3) are repealed on the first day on which the final agreements of all first nations, within the meaning of the Yukon First Nations Land Claims Settlement Act, chapter 34 of the Statutes of Canada, 1994, are in effect.The Minister shall publish a notice of that day in the Canada Gazette. — 2002, c. 7, s. 70Paragraph 33(b) of this Act is replaced by the following:the opinion of the Auditor General of Yukon referred to in subsection 34(1); and — 2002, c. 7, s. 71This Act is amended by adding the following after section 33:Auditor General of YukonThe Commissioner, with the consent of the Executive Council, shall appoint a qualified auditor as the Auditor General of Yukon.The Auditor General of Yukon shall hold office during good behaviour for a term of 10 years, but may be removed by the Commissioner on address of the Legislative Assembly.The Auditor General of Canada may act as Auditor General of Yukon if the Auditor General of Canada is of the opinion that it will not interfere with his or her primary responsibilities. Sections 33.2, 37.2 and 37.4 do not apply if the Auditor General of Canada acts as Auditor General of Yukon.The provisions of the Public Service Superannuation Act, other than those relating to tenure of office, apply to the Auditor General of Yukon.The Auditor General of Yukon shall make such examinations and inquiries as the Auditor General considers necessary to enable him or her to report as required by this Act. — 2002, c. 7, s. 72The portion of subsection 34(1) of this Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:The Auditor General of Yukon shall audit the accounts, including those related to the Yukon Consolidated Revenue Fund, and financial transactions of the Yukon Government in each fiscal year in accordance with auditing standards recommended by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants or its successor and shall express his or her opinion as to whether — 2002, c. 7, s. 73The portion of section 35 of this Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:The Auditor General of Yukon may, at any time, inquire into and submit a supplementary report to the Legislative Assembly about any matter relating to the activities of the Yukon Government, including whether — 2002, c. 7, s. 74The portion of section 36 of this Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:At the request of the Commissioner, made with the consent of the Executive Council, the Auditor General of Yukon may, if in his or her opinion it does not interfere with the Auditor General’s primary responsibilities, inquire into and report to the Legislative Assembly on — 2002, c. 7, s. 75Section 37 of this Act is replaced by the following:Except as provided by any law made by the Legislature that expressly refers to this subsection, the Auditor General of Yukon is entitled to free access at all convenient times to information that relates to the fulfilment of his or her responsibilities and is entitled to require and receive from members of the public service of Yukon any information, reports and explanations that he or she considers necessary for that purpose.In order to carry out his or her duties more effectively, the Auditor General may station any person employed in his or her office in any portion of the public service of Yukon, and the Yukon Government shall provide the necessary office accommodation for that person.The Auditor General shall require every person employed in his or her office who is to examine, pursuant to this Act, the accounts of a portion of the public service of Yukon or of a corporation that is expressly declared under any law of the Legislature to be an agent of the Yukon Government to comply with any security requirements applicable to, and to take any oath of secrecy required to be taken by, persons employed in that public service or that corporation.The Auditor General may, for the purpose of auditing the accounts of Yukon, in the same manner and to the same extent as a court of record, summon and enforce the attendance of witnesses and compel them to give oral and written evidence on oath and to produce such documents and things as the Auditor General considers necessary for a full review.The Auditor General of Yukon may request a corporation that is expressly declared under any law of the Legislature to be an agent of the Yukon Government to obtain and furnish such information and explanations from its present or former directors, officers, employees, agents and auditors or those of any of its subsidiaries as are, in the Auditor General’s opinion, necessary to fulfil his or her responsibilities.If, in the opinion of the Auditor General, a corporation fails to provide any or sufficient information or explanations in response to a request made under subsection (1), the Auditor General may so advise the Commissioner. The Commissioner may then, with the consent of the Executive Council, direct the officers of the corporation to give the Auditor General such information and explanations and access to any records, documents, books, accounts and vouchers of the corporation or any of its subsidiaries as is, in the opinion of the Auditor General, necessary to fulfil his or her responsibilities.In order to fulfil his or her responsibilities, the Auditor General may rely on the report of a duly appointed auditor of a corporation referred to in subsection (1) or of any subsidiary of that corporation.The Auditor General of Yukon shall appoint, in accordance with the laws of the Legislature governing employment in the public service of Yukon, such officers and employees as are necessary to enable him or her to perform the Auditor General’s duties.The Auditor General may, in accordance with the laws referred to in subsection (1), suspend or dismiss from the performance of his or her duty any person employed in the Auditor General’s office.The Auditor General may, within the total dollar limitations established for his or her office in appropriation laws, contract for professional services.The Auditor General may delegate any of his or her powers under this section to any person or organization that under a law of the Legislature is responsible for the management of the public service of Yukon.The Auditor General of Yukon may designate a member of his or her staff to sign on the Auditor General’s behalf any opinion that he or she is required to give and any report other than a report to the Legislative Assembly, and any member so signing an opinion or report shall indicate beneath his or her signature his or her position in the office of the Auditor General and the fact that he or she is signing on behalf of the Auditor General.The Auditor General of Yukon may make a special report to the Legislative Assembly if he or she is of the opinion thatthe amounts provided for his or her office in the estimates are inadequate to enable the Auditor General to fulfil his or her responsibilities; orthe laws of the Legislature governing employment in the public service of Yukon may undermine the independence of the Office of the Auditor General or otherwise interfere with the performance of his or her duties. — 2002, c. 7, s. 76, as amended by 2019, c. 28, s. 172 [in force but has not yet had its effect]Section 55 of this Act is repealed on the day on which the Canadian Energy Regulator gives leave to open the last section or part of the pipeline referred to in the Northern Pipeline Act.The Minister shall publish a notice of that day in the Canada Gazette. — 2017, c. 26, ss. 72(1), (2)In this section, other Act means the Yukon Act.If subparagraph 62(l)(ii) of this Act comes into force before section 72 of the other Act, then on the day on which that section 72 comes into force, the portion of subsection 34(1) of the other Act before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following:The Auditor General of Yukon shall audit the accounts, including those related to the Yukon Consolidated Revenue Fund, and financial transactions of the Yukon Government in each fiscal year in accordance with auditing standards recommended by the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada or its successor and shall express his or her opinion as to whether