diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/check_diff_start.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/check_diff_start.py
index 994442f559..b41fcf0a10 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/check_diff_start.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/check_diff_start.py
@@ -26,13 +26,12 @@ import os.path
 import shutil
 import tempfile
 
-import yaml
-
 # Disable warnings about insecure connections.
 from requests.packages import urllib3
 
 from openstack_releases import defaults
 from openstack_releases import gitutils
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 urllib3.disable_warnings()
 
@@ -83,7 +82,7 @@ def main():
             print("File was deleted, skipping.")
             continue
         with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-            deliverable_info = yaml.load(f.read())
+            deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
         branch = 'stable/' + args.prev_series
 
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/edit_deliverable.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/edit_deliverable.py
index 2118622d49..b7d3813ecf 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/edit_deliverable.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/edit_deliverable.py
@@ -18,8 +18,6 @@ import argparse
 
 from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
-import yaml
-
 
 def release_notes(args, series, deliverable_info):
     deliverable_info['release-notes'] = args.url
@@ -41,7 +39,7 @@ def get_deliverable_data(series, deliverable):
     deliverable_filename = 'deliverables/%s/%s.yaml' % (
         series, deliverable)
     with open(deliverable_filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-        return yaml.safe_load(f)
+        return yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/list_changes.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/list_changes.py
index 4d4b72d1ce..c27366008c 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/list_changes.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/list_changes.py
@@ -27,11 +27,10 @@ import subprocess
 import sys
 import tempfile
 
-import yaml
-
 from openstack_releases import defaults
 from openstack_releases import gitutils
 from openstack_releases import governance
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 def header(title):
@@ -161,8 +160,8 @@ def main():
             continue
         print('\n' + ('=' * 80))
         print('\nChecking %s\n' % filename)
-        with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-            deliverable_info = yaml.load(f.read())
+        with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
         series = os.path.basename(
             os.path.dirname(
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/list_constraints.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/list_constraints.py
index ba06df68f5..81d3b07c19 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/list_constraints.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/list_constraints.py
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ import glob
 import os
 import os.path
 
-import yaml
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 def main():
@@ -39,8 +39,8 @@ def main():
         return 1
 
     for filename in filenames:
-        with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-            deliverable_info = yaml.load(f.read())
+        with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
         deliverable_name = os.path.splitext(os.path.basename(filename))[0]
 
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/make_tracking_pad.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/make_tracking_pad.py
index 6279a7b75e..e04cba6ce7 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/make_tracking_pad.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/make_tracking_pad.py
@@ -17,8 +17,7 @@ import datetime
 import os.path
 
 import openstack_releases
-
-import yaml
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 def main():
@@ -45,7 +44,7 @@ def main():
     ))
 
     with open(schedule_filename, 'r') as f:
-        schedule_data = yaml.safe_load(f)
+        schedule_data = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
     print('Release Team Calendar for {}\n'.format(series.title()))
 
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/missing.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/missing.py
index ea1773d593..b82437d376 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/missing.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/missing.py
@@ -23,14 +23,13 @@ import glob
 import os
 import os.path
 
-import yaml
-
 # Disable warnings about insecure connections.
 from requests.packages import urllib3
 
 from openstack_releases import defaults
 from openstack_releases import gitutils
 from openstack_releases import links
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 urllib3.disable_warnings()
 
@@ -79,8 +78,8 @@ def main():
         if not os.path.exists(filename):
             print("File was deleted, skipping.")
             continue
-        with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-            deliverable_info = yaml.load(f.read())
+        with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
         link_mode = deliverable_info.get('artifact-link-mode', 'tarball')
 
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/new_release.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/new_release.py
index 3538eeb603..63a1cb73e8 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/new_release.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/new_release.py
@@ -23,14 +23,12 @@ import tempfile
 from openstack_releases import gitutils
 from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
-import yaml
-
 
 def get_deliverable_data(series, deliverable):
     deliverable_filename = 'deliverables/%s/%s.yaml' % (
         series, deliverable)
-    with open(deliverable_filename, 'r') as f:
-        return yaml.safe_load(f)
+    with open(deliverable_filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        return yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
 
 def main():
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_final_releases.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_final_releases.py
index 08c03bee91..44dc8d09e8 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_final_releases.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_final_releases.py
@@ -22,8 +22,6 @@ import re
 import shutil
 import tempfile
 
-import yaml
-
 import openstack_releases
 from openstack_releases import gitutils
 from openstack_releases import governance
@@ -146,7 +144,7 @@ def main():
         verbose('\n{}'.format(filename))
         deliverable_name = os.path.basename(filename)[:-5]
         with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
-            deliverable_data = yaml.safe_load(f)
+            deliverable_data = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
         releases = deliverable_data.get('releases')
         if not releases:
             verbose('#  no releases')
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_library_branches.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_library_branches.py
index 4e9269d9fd..1921ef45bd 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_library_branches.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/propose_library_branches.py
@@ -21,10 +21,9 @@ import os.path
 import shutil
 import tempfile
 
-import yaml
-
 import openstack_releases
 from openstack_releases import defaults
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 BRANCH_TEMPLATE = """
@@ -104,8 +103,8 @@ def main():
         deliverable_name = os.path.basename(filename)[:-5]
         if args.deliverable and deliverable_name not in args.deliverable:
             continue
-        with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-            deliverable_data = yaml.safe_load(f)
+        with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            deliverable_data = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
         if deliverable_data['type'] != 'library':
             continue
         verbose('\n{}'.format(filename))
diff --git a/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py b/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py
index 6025e2a0cb..083df481a4 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/cmds/validate.py
@@ -31,7 +31,6 @@ import tempfile
 import jsonschema
 import requests
 import six
-import yaml
 
 # Disable warnings about insecure connections.
 from requests.packages import urllib3
@@ -44,6 +43,7 @@ from openstack_releases import project_config
 from openstack_releases import puppetutils
 from openstack_releases import pythonutils
 from openstack_releases import versionutils
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 urllib3.disable_warnings()
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ _NO_STABLE_BRANCH_CHECK = set([
 ])
 _PLEASE = ('It is too expensive to determine this value during '
            'the site build, please set it explicitly.')
-_SCHEMA = yaml.load(
+_SCHEMA = yamlutils.loads(
     pkgutil.get_data('openstack_releases', 'schema.yaml').decode('utf-8')
 )
 
@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ def validate_series_open(deliverable_info,
         os.path.dirname(previous_deliverable_file)
     )
     expected_branch = 'stable/' + previous_series
-    with open(previous_deliverable_file, 'r') as f:
-        previous_deliverable = yaml.load(f.read())
+    with open(previous_deliverable_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+        previous_deliverable = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
         if not previous_deliverable:
             # An empty file results in None, so convert to dict to
             # make using the value easier.
@@ -822,8 +822,8 @@ def main():
         if not os.path.isfile(filename):
             print("File was deleted, skipping.")
             continue
-        with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-            deliverable_info = yaml.load(f.read())
+        with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+            deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
 
         series_name = os.path.basename(
             os.path.dirname(filename)
diff --git a/openstack_releases/deliverable.py b/openstack_releases/deliverable.py
index b0b7bf395a..d5dcf95c4d 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/deliverable.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/deliverable.py
@@ -20,9 +20,9 @@ import glob
 import os
 
 import pbr.version
-import yaml
 
 from openstack_releases import governance
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 def _safe_semver(v):
@@ -122,8 +122,8 @@ class Deliverables(object):
         for filename in sorted(deliverable_files):
             series = self._series_from_filename(filename)
             deliverable = self._deliverable_from_filename(filename)
-            with open(filename, 'r') as f:
-                d_info = yaml.load(f.read())
+            with open(filename, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
+                d_info = yamlutils.loads(f.read())
                 if self._collapse_history:
                     _collapse_deliverable_history(deliverable, d_info)
             team = d_info['team']
diff --git a/openstack_releases/governance.py b/openstack_releases/governance.py
index 44a97ca15e..489bbe078c 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/governance.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/governance.py
@@ -16,9 +16,9 @@
 import weakref
 
 from openstack_releases import wiki
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 import requests
-import yaml
 
 PROJECTS_LIST = "http://git.openstack.org/cgit/openstack/governance/plain/reference/projects.yaml"  # noqa
 
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ def get_team_data(url=PROJECTS_LIST):
 
     """
     r = requests.get(url)
-    return yaml.load(r.text)
+    return yamlutils.loads(r.text)
 
 
 def get_tags_for_deliverable(team_data, team, name):
diff --git a/openstack_releases/project_config.py b/openstack_releases/project_config.py
index e1f2fba965..c8dca3dfd6 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/project_config.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/project_config.py
@@ -14,9 +14,9 @@
 """
 
 import requests
-import yaml
 
 from openstack_releases import flags
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 ZUUL_LAYOUT_URL = 'http://git.openstack.org/cgit/openstack-infra/project-config/plain/zuul/layout.yaml'  # noqa
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ def get_zuul_layout_data(url=ZUUL_LAYOUT_URL):
 
     """
     r = requests.get(url)
-    raw = yaml.safe_load(r.text)
+    raw = yamlutils.loads(r.text)
     # Add a mapping from repo name to repo settings, since that is how
     # we access this most often.
     raw[_VALIDATE_KEY] = {
diff --git a/openstack_releases/tests/test_governance.py b/openstack_releases/tests/test_governance.py
index a78dc8fc2f..49f84cbe7b 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/tests/test_governance.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/tests/test_governance.py
@@ -15,8 +15,7 @@
 from oslotest import base
 
 from openstack_releases import governance
-
-import yaml
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 _team_data_yaml = """
@@ -57,7 +56,7 @@ Release Management:
         - openstack-dev/specs-cookiecutter
 """
 
-TEAM_DATA = yaml.load(_team_data_yaml)
+TEAM_DATA = yamlutils.loads(_team_data_yaml)
 
 
 class TestGetRepoOwner(base.BaseTestCase):
diff --git a/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py b/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py
index ee2a9beb69..2070138f9b 100644
--- a/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py
+++ b/openstack_releases/tests/test_validate.py
@@ -20,10 +20,10 @@ import textwrap
 import fixtures
 import mock
 from oslotest import base
-import yaml
 
 from openstack_releases import defaults
 from openstack_releases.cmds import validate
+from openstack_releases import yamlutils
 
 
 class TestValidateBugTracker(base.BaseTestCase):
@@ -1031,7 +1031,7 @@ class TestValidateNewReleases(base.BaseTestCase):
             - openstack-dev/specs-cookiecutter
     """)
 
-    team_data = yaml.load(team_data_yaml)
+    team_data = yamlutils.loads(team_data_yaml)
 
     def test_all_repos(self):
         deliverable_info = {
@@ -1154,7 +1154,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1177,7 +1177,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1200,7 +1200,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1223,7 +1223,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1247,7 +1247,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             '_independent',
@@ -1272,7 +1272,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             '_independent',
@@ -1296,7 +1296,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1320,7 +1320,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1344,7 +1344,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1369,7 +1369,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1394,7 +1394,7 @@ class TestValidateStableBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_stable_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             'ocata',
@@ -1424,7 +1424,7 @@ class TestValidateFeatureBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_feature_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1449,7 +1449,7 @@ class TestValidateFeatureBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_feature_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1474,7 +1474,7 @@ class TestValidateFeatureBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_feature_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1499,7 +1499,7 @@ class TestValidateFeatureBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_feature_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1524,7 +1524,7 @@ class TestValidateFeatureBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_feature_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1556,7 +1556,7 @@ class TestValidateDriverfixesBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_driverfixes_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1580,7 +1580,7 @@ class TestValidateDriverfixesBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_driverfixes_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1605,7 +1605,7 @@ class TestValidateDriverfixesBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_driverfixes_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1630,7 +1630,7 @@ class TestValidateDriverfixesBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_driverfixes_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1655,7 +1655,7 @@ class TestValidateDriverfixesBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_driverfixes_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1680,7 +1680,7 @@ class TestValidateDriverfixesBranches(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_driverfixes_branches(
             deliverable_info,
             self.tmpdir,
@@ -1725,7 +1725,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesOpen(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_open(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1753,7 +1753,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesOpen(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_open(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1776,7 +1776,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesOpen(base.BaseTestCase):
         ''')
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_open(
             deliverable_info,
             '_independent',
@@ -1812,7 +1812,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesOpen(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_open(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1847,7 +1847,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesFirst(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_first(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1878,7 +1878,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesFirst(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_first(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1901,7 +1901,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesFirst(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_first(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1928,7 +1928,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesFirst(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_first(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1955,7 +1955,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesFirst(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_first(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',
@@ -1982,7 +1982,7 @@ class TestValidateSeriesFirst(base.BaseTestCase):
             f.write(deliverable_data)
         warnings = []
         errors = []
-        deliverable_info = yaml.safe_load(deliverable_data)
+        deliverable_info = yamlutils.loads(deliverable_data)
         validate.validate_series_first(
             deliverable_info,
             'a',