Yukon gov't to decentralize some support services downtown, as part of safety response plan

The Yukon Government says it has a plan to improve public safety downtown and expand support services for vulnerable people.

Premier Ranj Pillai, alongside Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee, presented their "downtown Whitehorse safety response action plan" at a news conference on Thursday.

The plan lists a number of initiatives, both short and long term, and is "a road map aimed at enhancing the safety, health and overall well-being of our downtown Whitehorse community," according to Pillai.

It's a response, in part, to recent concerns around the Whitehorse emergency shelter and the complaints of neighbouring businesses. In the fall, the owners of the Alpine Bakery said they were temporarily closing because of noise and disruptive behaviour by shelter clients.

Pillai says the plan was developed with input and support from local businesses, Yukon First Nations, RCMP, the city, and people with lived experience.

"It is important that everyone again feels safe downtown. Whether your ancestors have been here since time immemorial or you're visiting from outside for a journey of a lifetime, your stories matter, your experiences matter, and we are listening and doing our best to work with the whole community," Pillai said.

Some of the initiatives in the plan include:

• Decentralizing some support services in the downtown, including some food services and culturally safe programming.
• Creating a managed alcohol residential program.
• Extending hours at the supervised consumption site. 
• Working with the City of Whitehorse to develop a community safety plan, potentially add more accessible public washroom facilities, and explore options for beautification of Alexander Street.
• Yukon Housing Corporation to develop a "rapid response to homelessness" plan.

McPhee said the plan is "focused on solutions."

"There is no one lever that we can pull to solve everything. But we must remain nimble and it's important so that we can respond in real time, as solutions evolve," she said.

Pillai said the issues downtown and around the emergency shelter are not entirely new, though the pandemic, the opioid crisis, population growth, and the high cost of living have all added challenges. 

"I think all the pressures have been happening in parallel, you know, with us taking over 405 Alexander," Pillai said.

"And we see that across not just downtown Whitehorse, but across the Yukon, across western Canada, across Canada as a whole — many of the same things. This is not unique to Whitehorse."

Pillai said the shelter on Alexander Street has also brought many of those longstanding issues "to the forefront."

"When people drive to work in the morning, it's front and centre," Pillai said.

The government says it will provide an update on its new action plan in the spring.

"This is our plan as as as it exists today," McPhee said. "But it can, it must and it will change as the challenges that we face together also change."