Yukon government passes bill to allow it to halt health authority, minister says
Opposition motion calling on health authority board representatives to testify in legislature defeated
The Yukon government has passed legislation that the health minister says gives it the legal authority to press pause on the implementation of a proposed health authority.
Ahead of a vote on Bill 5, Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers said the Yukon Party committed to “reassessing” plans for the health authority and better directing health resources. The government will work toward shared priorities with First Nations, he said.
Opposition members in the legislative assembly voted against the bill. Not all MLAs were present for the 10-6 vote on Tuesday.
Yukon NDP Leader Kate White told the legislature the health authority — initiated by the previous Liberal government as an arm’s-length organization to carry out front-line care — brought hope of “transformational change.”
“It was done side by side with Yukon First Nations,” she said.
White said she hopes to be at the table during the next meeting with the minister.
The Council of Yukon First Nations and the Chiefs Committee on Health put out a joint statement last week condemning the government’s decision amid opposition from Yukon First Nations who say they oppose the suspension of the work to establish a health authority.
The joint statement calls on Yukoners to express their concerns and demand transparency around how the territorial government is involving First Nations.
Debra-Leigh Reti, the Liberal MLA for Vuntut Gwitchin, accused the government of ramming the bill through the legislature as fast as possible with limited debate or meaningful dialogue.
Reti cited a new clause that she said “shields the government from legal accountability for that decision.”
On Wednesday, Reti’s motion to call representatives from the health authority board to appear as witnesses and respond to questions in the legislative assembly was defeated.
Yukon Party MLAs voted against the motion, which the NDP supported.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: Pharmacists say they’re shouldering a growing share of the Yukon’s health care burden, CBC News
Finland: Brakes on Lapland health cuts a win for Arctic communities, says Sami Parliament, Eye on the Arctic
United States: Senators, including Alaska’s, sound alarm on cuts impacting Indigenous health care agency, Eye on the Arctic
