Auditor General Report on Housing confirms what Yukoners have been experiencing
May 22, 2022
Whitehorse, May 25th, 2022 – The 2022 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on Yukon Housing confirms what Yukoners have been experiencing for over a decade. That when it comes to housing, successive Yukon Party and Liberal governments have failed to take the required actions and fix a broken system.
The audit blasted the Yukon Housing Corporation and Department of Health and Social Services for its frequent use of plans, strategies, and committees and it’s almost complete inability to put any of them into operation. Many issues identified in the Auditors 2010 report remain unaddressed and unchanged.
“This just confirms what the Yukon NDP have been highlighting for over a decade. Both Liberal and Yukon Party governments have spent millions on short term hotel stays without ensuring that they provide adequate and secure housing. There is not enough support for people once they have been housed, and the government’s solution to all of it, is more committees.”
– Kate White, Yukon NDP Leader
For years the Yukon NDP has been calling on the Yukon Government to review its use of hotels as accommodation for low-income Yukoners. The Auditors report echoes this call.
The Liberal Government has often hidden behind working groups and committees while limiting their ability to provide recommendations or drive change. This report confirms that their approach has not worked, and a new direction is needed.
“This report has cemented everything I’ve heard from Yukoners in the last year as housing critic. The approach of this Government to housing remains deeply inadequate to the challenge of providing access to quality, dignified housing to all Yukoners.”
– Emily Tredger, MLA for Whitehorse Centre
“The Auditor General in the report has once again highlighted how rural communities are still not having their housing needs met. It is clear when we see only 5 out of 18 community needs assessments completed in the last 3 years. This government needs to listen to communities and start addressing their unique needs.”
– Annie Blake, MLA for Vuntut Gwitchin
The Yukon NDP believes housing is a human right and that eliminating chronic homelessness in the Yukon needs to be a top priority for any Yukon Government.
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