Yukoners for Charter Rights and YG Accountability

Link to Petition:            https://tinyurl.com/yctqlrrz 

Funds raised will go towards hiring experts and a lawyer.

Between the 7 petition signers, we have committed to $28,000.00 and will contribute more if necessary.

On June 16, 2020, seven Yukoners filed a lawsuit against the Yukon Government. This lawsuit was started for two reasons:

We are concerned that government decision-making during the pandemic is lacking in transparency, accountability and oversight.
We are concerned that the restrictions imposed by the government go further than what is necessary, and in doing so violate our Charter rights.
Above all else, what we hope to achieve by going to court is an opportunity to have a calm and rational discussion about COVID-19, the risks which it poses to the Yukon, and the appropriateness of the processes and measures adopted by government.

Importantly, we have asked the Yukon government to provide us with the data and models which it has used in its decision-making process so that our experts can test and challenge it. If our government is committed to transparency, they should not have any issue providing us with this information.

While this case is concerned about the Yukon, it has the potential to set a precedent for all Canadian jurisdictions. We therefore welcome any support from Canadians concerned about the erosion of our democratic institutions and the protection of our Charter rights.

Some specifics about this case:

On April 17, 2020, the Yukon Implemented Ministerial Order 2020/19 (Civil Emergency Measures Border Control Measures (COVID-19) Order). The Order was made pursuant to the wide power granted under the Civil Emergency Measures Act.

The Border Control Measures are in violation of rights granted to Canadian Citizens under the Canadian Charter of rights and Freedoms.  Section 6 of the Charter gives Canadians the right to move and work freely across provincial boundaries.  In addition to interfering with Canadian Citizen's Freedom of Mobility the Government has imposed restrictions on Rights to Freedom of Assembly by limiting gatherings to 10 or fewer.  

On June 12th, the Yukon Government extended the State of Emergency (initially declared on March 27th) for a further 90 days despite Yukon being free of confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the end of April. This decision was made behind closed doors, outside of the public realm.

The Government has ignored requests to debate any COVID-19 related policy in the Legislative Assembly.   While few would argue against the measures put in place at the start of the pandemic, the time has come for government to justify the continuation of the current Orders in place are unjustified. 

We do not in any way deny the seriousness of the pandemic or claim that there should not be any Government policies in place to deal with COVID-19.  However, it has been demonstrated in British Columbia, a Province of 5 million people, that active cases can be systematically reduced through the promotion and adherence to sound hygiene practices such as social distancing,   limiting person to person contact and mask usage.   Citizens can  be trusted to follow the advice of health professionals, especially when those professional's present actual facts and statistics rather than fear mongering projections.

To be clear, this petition has been filed by individuals, not businesses. This is not about economic issues or convenience overriding the health and well being of Yukoners.  This is a discussion about democratic processes and accountability.  Moreover, it is a discussion about the overall well-being of individuals and society, the debt we leave for future citizens to service and ultimately about democratic governance and the Canadian constitution.  To date, the overall and comprehensive impact on Yukon from the COVID-19 virus itself has been that 11 people had flu-like symptoms and recovered at home.  There are many adverse effects associated with the current Yukon emergency measures that have not been fully examined or recognized by the current government and the media.  These include but are not limited to increased alcohol and drug abuse, domestic abuse, loss of constitutional rights, economic hardship for those in private enterprise as well as the unprecedented deficit spending. 

Whether or not you agree with the individual policies themselves, the balance between reducing COVID-19 risk and negative impact on society profoundly impacts all aspects of life for everyone in Yukon as well as any other Canadian with reason to travel into the Territory. This means that it needs to be publicly discussed, and closely scrutinized under legislative review and re-evaluation.  The current situation is that the Liberal government has extended the emergency measures act without providing any justification,  acted unilaterally without legislative oversight and made decisions that override the Canadian Constitution based on the opinion of our single non-elected Chief Medical Officer. This is not acceptable in a democratic society.

The lack of compelling and/or current evidence put forward to the public as well as the absence of justification and accountability on the part of the government is a shameful hijacking of our democratic processes. To allow this to proceed unopposed sets a very dangerous precedent and is not in Yukon citizens best interest.