Members of the Yukon legislature voted unanimously on Wednesday to invite the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to the territory. (CBC)

The Yukon's politicians will ask the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to come to the territory and hear from former residential school students there, following an emotional debate Wednesday about the federal panel's plans.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recently announced that it will go to Inuvik, N.W.T., in June 2011 for one of seven national events it will hold as it compiles former students' accounts of the Canadian residential school experience. The Inuvik event will be the only national event to be held in the North.

That move has slighted some Yukoners who have wanted the commission to come to the territory, in addition to the Inuvik meeting.

"It is unacceptable that this commission is not visiting the Yukon," said Yukon Party MLA Steve Nordick, who presented a motion on Wednesday to invite the national panel to Whitehorse.

"Former residential school students from the Yukon deserve an opportunity, in the Yukon, to have their voice heard," he added.

Nordick's motion was supported by Justice Minister Marian Horne, who spoke about the time she had spent at a mission school.

"You could no longer hold your children in your arms or be held when they hurt or when you hurt," a tearful Horne told the legislative assembly.

"Are Yukoners' stories of their time in residential school not as important as the other parts of Canada? Do we have to travel to Inuvik to have our story told? No," she added.

But NDP MLA Steve Cardiff said he has called the Truth and Reconciliation Commission himself and was assured that the panel would come to the Yukon if asked.

"They said they would be more than willing to come to the Yukon if requested," Cardiff said.

In the end, MLAs voted unanimously to pass Nordick's motion, indicating their desire for the commission to hear first-hand from Yukoners.

The Inuvik event will be one of seven national events the Truth and Reconciliation Commission is mandated to hold "to promote awareness and public education" about the Indian residential school system and its impacts, according to the commission's website. The commission will also support a number of community events across the country.