Yukon's 3 party leaders look back on 2021 and give their hopes for new year

Another tough pandemic year has wrapped.

Yukon's three main party leaders, Premier Sandy Silver who heads the Liberals, the NDP's Kate White and the Yukon Party's Currie Dixon each spoke with CBC News about the year that was and the year coming up.

Topics ranged from the floods of the southern lakes this past summer, tense sittings in the Legislative Assembly, and what the leaders' hope to achieve going forward.

Answers have been edited for length and clarity.

What stood out to you in 2021?

Silver: Obviously COVID-19 and vaccinations. Universal childcare is an extremely important piece of legislation and policy that was implemented last year. A highlight of travel would have been going down to Lower Post residential school with Premier [John] Horgan and the Liard First Nation ... to see the demolition there of the residential school. And, you know, maintaining a strong economy through COVID is something that we can, here in Yukon, hang our hats on. So it was definitely a busy year. That's for sure. A lot of issues about mental health and housing as well.

White: I think the standout moment for me ... was the flooding this year. And the reason why that stands out so much is it was so beautiful, to see the hundreds, if not thousands, of people come together to support their neighbours. So that was a huge one for me watching people just respond to calls for help and seeing people at sand packing stations and volunteering on properties of people they didn't know and just going out. 

Dixon: Despite us faring fairly well throughout the COVID pandemic, there's a lot of really profound issues facing Yukoners. We have a really problematic shortage of doctors and medical professionals in the territory. There's a shortage of teachers, there's a shortage of firewood, midwives that the list goes on and on. And so there's a lot of really, you know, big concerns that you guys have about our education system, our healthcare system, and a whole raft of issues with our economy. So, you know, from our perspective, there are a lot of concerns.

2021 was tense in Yukon politics. Do you think there will be a change in tone in  the new year?

Silver: I think what stands out on our side of the Legislative Assembly was our ability to take a lot of stuff on the chin ... our ability to maintain strong leadership and to kind of stay the course, during a very rough legislative session. It was really the first test as well of our confidence and supply agreement with the NDP, and we both committed to steam that through in 2023. And, by the end of the session, Yukoners could rest assured that the leadership is strong and that we're going to continue to see our way through that agreement, despite some of the tries from the Official Opposition to do harm to that.

White: I think if we look at the last few years, and we just kind of put the lens of COVID overtop of everything, it's not been an easy time for people at all. No one ever thought that we would be going into year two [of the pandemic]. We're in the darkest part of the year, we're just waiting for Solstice. And I think that is part of what has happened in the assembly, is that weight is sitting on people. I can say that I fundamentally believe that things can be different. And the reason I say this — I'm an optimistic person. And that is what I tried to revert to. But it was definitely hard, and it's been challenging. Just because I'm tied to the Liberals with the confidence and supply agreement doesn't mean that I agree all the time at all, and you would have seen that reflected in questions and different things.

Dixon: The last sitting was certainly a tense one. I think that was partly due to the nature of some of the subject matter that we were dealing with. I mean, one of the big issues in the fall sitting was the the Hidden Valley sexual abuse scandal .... So when you're dealing with that type of subject matter, obviously, it can get heated. And that was contributed to as well by the the real raw emotions that we heard from Yukoners, and especially those families affected by that .... I'm hopeful that that tone changes in the spring, I think that it's important for us as the Official Opposition to raise those concerns and to bring issues forward, but to do it in a respectful way. And like I said, not to just oppose, but to propose alternatives as well. And so I'm going to certainly push that as much [and] as best as I can, through 2022.

What do you consider a top accomplishment?

Silver: I think I'm really proud of Yukoners when it comes to vaccinations. You know, this time last year, we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of vaccines. I remember being on the tarmac, watching the plane coming with the very first doses … that was just a year ago. It seems like a very long year. We negotiated with the federal government to make sure that northern remote and Indigenous communities received priority access to vaccines at that time. So [many] Yukoners were able to receive two doses before other Canadians could get their first shot.

White: It was a really interesting year, of course, because we had the the spring election. You know, I'm still incredibly proud of all the folks who ran with me as candidates, because I really feel what we did is we showed the diversity of Yukon, and we showed what politics could look like. And I was really proud of that campaign and really proud of all those people. Of course, you know, I'm joined now by two newly elected people. 

Dixon: We were happy with the results of the election, obviously, we would have preferred to have won a majority in the in the legislature. But, the results were what they were, we grew our party, we grew the number of MLAs we have and we won the popular vote by a considerable margin. So we were happy with the election. Following that, we've taken on the role of the Official Opposition. And, you know, we've done our best to raise concerns and questions about the government. Of course, this government is one that's defined largely by its agreement with the NDP. 

What's your party's focus in 2022?

Silver: We have two major plans that are guiding our work as we move forward ... our clean future, which is Yukon climate change, energy and green economy strategy, but also the Putting People First report, which is that roadmap to how to make our health and social services system, a people-centred system that is the best in the country. And, you know, tackling climate change and improving health and social services are our two top priorities for sure. These documents guide us through the process. In both cases, it was extensive consultation with all levels of government stakeholders ... I'd also say land use planning is very important as well, the Dawson regional land use planning process that's underway. We can't afford ... to make the same mistakes that I made during the Peel watershed planning process. So going forward, we absolutely need to do that balancing of the economy and the environment.

White: Like many people, I was optimistic and hopeful that 2021 would, you know, be a kinder year, and we saw that it wasn't quite like that. So, looking forward to 2022 ... it's with that same hope, that same optimism ... If we look at the Yukon contacts, there's lots of really important work to be done, and looking forward to digging into that, continuing to just be blown away by folks, and the depth of their care for each other. We see it through things like the sheer amount that the food bank right now is distributing as far as support there or the opening of the pride centre, and what that means for community. And then, of course, if we look across the territory, because, you know, Yukon is a lot bigger than just Whitehorse, there's lots of stuff that needs to happen. So I want to make sure that Faro gets the mental health support that they need, that we look at addiction supports and mental health supports across the territory. You know, Mayo has called out for help. And that's an incredibly brave and powerful thing that they've done. And I want to make sure that their call is answered. And so I think in 2022, it'll be looking at how we can better support rural communities, make sure that they have access, I think, you know, everybody should have access to a family doctor.

Dixon: It's gonna be interesting from a political sense. It'll be the first budget next spring that is developed through the the confidence and supply agreement between the Liberals and the NDP. And so will I expect that we'll see a lot of the NDP platform enacted in the budget. So for us in the legislature, this spring budget will be a big thing. And that's something that we will be very occupied with throughout the first half of the year. So we'll do our best to offer our thoughts and concerns and questions about that budget. We'll also make sure that we do our part to not just oppose the government but propose alternatives ... Then as 2022 unfolds, I think it's all of our hope that we'll start to turn the corner on the COVID pandemic, and will start to have the opportunity to see things return to some semblance of normalcy.