NDP Leader Kate White’s frustrations were evident at the end of the legislature’s fall sitting.

“It’s 12 years in and the end of a sitting, and it’s hard right now to be super-optimistic because I’m tired and a little bit cranky about the whole thing,” White told reporters on Thursday.

And Liberal ministers digging in their heels on issues such as funding the new Skagway ore dock and the closure of rural waste transfer stations have left her questioning why they can’t have more honest conversations about what’s best for the territory.

“I do fundamentally believe politicians can make mistakes, but they should also admit those mistakes and look at different solutions,” she said.

She did say that none of this threatens to derail the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) between the NDP and Liberals which allows for the Liberal party to govern.

“CASA is complicated, because it talks about a relationship between parties that have opposing views, and CASA is the commonality of where some of those views run into each other,” White said.

“And like anything, it requires work, and it requires constant check-ins, and some days it’s really good, and some days it’s really hard.”

Topping her list of frustrations is the cost overrun for the Skagway ore dock.

This Yukon government-funded project to ensure Yukon mining companies access to an ocean port was originally slated to cost just over $20 million, but may now end up coming in at closer to $44 million.

“Yeah, $21 million in a supplementary budget for an ore dock — I’m furious about that,” White said.

Because this extra money was not accounted for in the initial budgeting, White said, it needed to come from other departments.

She drew a line — which the government disputes — between this extra funding and money taken from housing and public works programs.

“This should have been something that the government knew was coming and they should have planned for it in the spring budget,” she said.

Another thorn in White’s side is the program providing subsidies to landlords affected by rent caps.

“A million-dollar program for landlords,” White said. “Yeah, not super-fond of that.”

She would have liked to see some of this money go toward projects like the Vimy seniors housing project in Whistle Bend, which has been stalled for years.

Other issues she’d like to see more progress on include legislation to regulate short-term housing rentals and more of a focus on providing mental health services for young people.

“We always try to ground what we’re talking about in the experiences of people, and I think we do that,” she said.

An example of this White highlighted is her party standing with those opposed to the closure of rural waste transfer stations in places such as Silver City and Keno City.

A Wednesday afternoon debate on this topic saw the Liberals talk until the end of the day to avoid a vote on a motion calling for the transfer stations to be kept open.

“The government talked it out because they were too cowardly to vote one way or the other,” 
White said.

Premier Ranj Pillai claimed they were just having an honest debate.

Despite everything the government did this fall that White didn’t like, she still supported Thursday’s final budgetary vote, and allowed them to continue to govern.

She mentioned that overall, CASA successes include pushing through a $15-per-hour minimum wage, rent caps and bans on no-cause evictions, as well as more money for education and health.

“Those are all the reasons why I will hold my nose and vote in favour of the budget,” she said.