Yukon Liberals, NDP seek changes for intoxicated persons

Members of the Yukon's two opposition political parties have called for more action to help those in the territory who are too intoxicated to help themselves.

Meeting at their respective party conventions over the weekend in Whitehorse, the territory's Liberals and New Democrats brought up the issue, which has been in the forefront due to two recent high-profile deaths.

NDP leader Elizabeth Hanson said the current Yukon Party government, which has been in power since 2002, is bankrupting the territory both morally and financially by spending irresponsibly.

"The random spending approach means that after eight years, the Yukon Party still has not developed programs for affordable housing for young families," Hanson told NDP delegates.

"After eight years and numerous avoidable tragedies, accessible safe places for inebriated individuals and homeless [people are] still not available."

Last month, a coroner's inquest heard details about the December 2008 death of Raymond Silverfox, who was held for more than 13 hours in the Whitehorse RCMP's drunk tank, mostly unattended, before he died of acute pneumonia.

More recently, Robert Stone died at the Whitehorse detoxification centre on May 2, after spending a total of about 15 hours in an RCMP cell, the Whitehorse General Hospital and the detox centre.

A task force has since been created to recommend alternatives to keeping intoxicated people in police drunk tanks. The task force has until Dec. 31 to compile and present its findings to the government.

Former senator proposes central facility

Delegates at the Liberal party's policy summit on Saturday discussed more effective ways to help people who are struggling with drug and alcohol addictions.

Former Yukon Liberal senator Ione Christensen, who now works with the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Society of the Yukon, said non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that provide social services should work out of a shared facility.

Sharing facilities such as kitchens and counselling rooms would greatly cut those groups' expenses, Christensen said.

"All the NGOs need the same sort of thing. They don't need it every day, but they do need it," she said.

Christensen said a shared social-services facility could be housed in the former Canadian Tire building in downtown Whitehorse. That location was initially proposed by a city councillor last year.

Christensen also suggested that the government provide short-term and long-term housing for people who cannot look after themselves, arguing that doing so would take a huge burden off the health-care and justice systems and save money.

"We don't have that many people, when you look at the total population, that need this kind of thing. Maybe we're looking at 200, 300 people maximum in the territory that would need this kind of care on a regular basis," she said.

"It's really not a lot, you know. We can deal with it."

Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell agreed that something must be done, noting the government's move to create the task force.

Mitchell said dealing with intoxicated persons is not a new issue in the Yukon, so it is time for more than just further studies to be done.

Other topics discussed

Other topics were on the table at the two conventions, as both parties prepare over the next year and a half for a territorial election.

The Liberal summit, which was billed as an "idea factory" policy meeting, allowed the party to redevelop its policies and build themes that will define the party when an election is called.

The NDP launched a process to rewrite and modernize its own policies, in the hopes that the party's MLAs feel a strong connection to the party.

Former NDP leader Todd Hardy pointed to several elected politicians — including Premier Dennis Fentie and Liberal MLAs Eric Fairclough and Gary McRobb — who were initially elected as New Democrats but later changed parties.

Hardy cited those MLAs to illustrate "the betrayal of so many of those people that got their start in politics because of the dedication of the people that supported the values and principles of the NDP."

NDP members also passed a resolution opposing the proposed civil forfeiture act, which would allow the territorial government to seize property and goods bought with money that was obtained by illegal activity.

Delegates said the proposed legislation is draconian and does not respect people's civil rights.