Supplementary Estimates address health care needs and emergency response in the Yukon, while maintaining surplus position

Minister of Finance Sandy Silver tabled the 2024–25 Supplementary Estimates No. 1 in the Yukon Legislative Assembly today. The Supplementary Estimates forecasts a $150.1 million increase to the operations and maintenance (O&M) budget from the spring, offset by $20.7 million in recoveries. Capital funding has decreased by $299,000.

Funding included in the 2024–25 Supplementary Estimates No. 1 ensures that the Government of Yukon can respond to health care pressures and urgent environmental responses. The most significant items contributing to the increase in O&M spending are:

• $44 million to meet Insured Health funding needs and pressures at the Yukon Hospital Corporation to ensure a high standard of health care delivery for Yukoners;
• $50 million in the response to the heap leach failure at the Eagle Gold Mine; and
• $22 million for emergency response to address wildfires across the Yukon, as well as flooding in the Klondike Valley and Old Crow regions to keep Yukoners safe.

Some infrastructure projects in the capital budget reflect updated funding timelines to better align cashflows for when project work takes place. The completion date on these projects, however, has not changed.

The contingency fund of $50 million included in Budget 2024–25 ensures that some of the cost pressures in health care and costs from emergencies like floods and fires can be absorbed, having a smaller impact on the government’s financial position. This fund helps ensure that the Government of Yukon will maintain a $75.4 million surplus position, despite the many challenges facing the territory over the first half of the fiscal year.

The Supplementary Estimates was accompanied by the release of the 2024–25 Interim Fiscal and Economic Update. The update provides a revised look at expectations for the Yukon’s finances and our economy, building on the 2024–25 Fiscal and Economic Outlook released this spring.

This year’s update highlights that, despite a two per cent decrease in gross domestic product as a result of the suspension of operations at the Eagle Gold Mine, the Yukon’s economy is still in a favourable position with a strong demand for workers, continued earnings growth and a tourism sector that has rebounded since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inflation has moderated and is expected to remain around 2 per cent over the forecast and consumer spending and retail sales are showing significant strength.