Got a room? Yukon gov't scrambles to house staff for new Whistle Bend care facility

Whitehorse's housing crunch is creating challenges for the Yukon government, as it scrambles to recruit staff for the new Whistle Bend continuing care facility opening this year.

The government has even taken to posting notices in Health and Social Services department offices, asking whether staff have spare rooms and are "interested in sharing their home with one of Continuing Care's new team members!"

The new 150-bed Whistle Bend facility is scheduled to open in October. The government is working to hire about 250 people as new staff.

It's a little late in the game to be thinking of where people are going to live.- Steve Geick, Yukon Employees Union president

"We are still looking for nurses, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, and health care aids as well. We've hired plenty of them so far, but we still have a ways to go," said Sarah Hancock, a human resources specialist with the Department of Health and Social Services.

"It's the largest recruitment that we've ever had to do, so we are having to be as proactive and creative as we can, across all areas of that project."

Hancock said most of the people hired so far are already Yukoners. Now, the government is looking to recruit people from elsewhere — and that's where housing becomes a problem. About half of the 250 new positions will be filled by people from outside Yukon, Hancock said.

"There's no secret that housing can be challenging, Whitehorse in particular," Hancock said.

"We've had to be as proactive as we can, and billeting can be a really great way for people to integrate into our community."

Hancock said the department is also talking to local realtors, hotels, and landlord association to find accommodations.

The government also posted a tender document this week, looking for someone to "gather information on potential solutions to overcoming the lack of available rental accommodation."

"The lack of available rental housing in Whitehorse is creating challenges to recruiting staff required for our facilities," the document says. 

'A bizarre housing plan,' union says

Steve Geick, president of the Yukon Employees Union, is baffled by the government's seemingly desperate efforts to find housing, just a few months before the facility opens.

"It's a little late in the game to be thinking of where people are going to live," he said.

The Whistle Bend facility has been in the works for several years, and Geick said his union brought up the issue of housing a long time ago. 

The last-minute effort to find housing, he said, is "just a bizarre housing plan."

"They've had a lot of time to think about it, and so if this is their solution, as far as I'm concerned, it's a very bizarre way of doing it."

Despite the challenges, the Department of Health and Social Services said overall, the project is still on track.

"We're confident that we'll be able to open on time in October," said Hancock.

• More CBC North news here