Yukon politicians threaten contempt over mine manager’s refusal to answer questions

Yukon politicians could hold an official with the company managing the cleanup of a disaster at the Eagle Gold mine in contempt of Parliament after its officials refused to answer questions in front of the legislature.

Debate on a contempt motion in the Yukon legislature was adjourned until Monday after days of duelling letters over whether the court-ordered receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, can be forced by elected officials to publicly answer questions.

On April 16, Yukon members of the legislature unanimously passed a motion calling for PricewaterhouseCoopers senior vice-president Michelle Grant, as well as another senior official, to appear in front of a committee as witnesses to answer questions about the receivership, operations and management of the mine site.

The appearance is set for Tuesday, but lawyers for the company argued in a letter this week that only a court order could force them to appear, saying that they are “unable to find any compelling authority” that the legislative assembly has the power to make them.

A lawyer for Speaker of the House Jeremy Harper responded in her own letter that Parliamentary privileges and the power to summon witnesses date back to the 1800s and that going to court to try to prevent the appearance was “doomed to fail” because the courts don’t have the authority to review how the legislative branch exercises privilege.

The Eagle Gold mine was the site of a disaster on June 24, 2024, after a heap leach containment facility failed, dumping millions of tonnes of cyanide-soaked ore into the environment, and PricewaterhouseCoopers was made receiver in August. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 25, 2025.