Our Plan to Restore Public Safety

The Yukon Party is revealing its plan to help restore public safety with better support for first responders and improving our emergency preparedness.

A Yukon Party government will more effectively support emergency preparedness and protective services throughout the territory by:

• Supporting firefighters by working with the Association of Yukon Firefighters and Fire Chiefs to provide appropriate gear, equipment and training.
• Expanding presumptive cancer coverage to wildland fire and working with affected unions, including the Whitehorse Firefighters Association, to review the listed cancers and the parameters of coverage.
• Working with the City of Whitehorse to construct a new firehall in Whistle Bend to improve access to services for the north end of Whitehorse, while also driving down insurance costs for residents within that service area.
• Strengthening Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Wilderness Response to ensure a timely and effective response.
• Collaborating with First Nations and Yukon First Nations Wildfire to expand their role in wildfire management and mitigation, providing skills training that enhances community safety and creates economic opportunities.

Our plan will also take decisive, immediate action to address the disturbing rise in both the number and severity of crimes and the devastating effects the opioid and substance use crisis is having on individuals and communities throughout the territory.

A Yukon Party government also recognizes, and will act to remedy, how downtown Whitehorse has become a hub of criminal activity and disorder by focusing on returning the capital city’s core to a place of safety, vibrancy, and community.

Our plan prioritizes victims of crime to ensure they receive justice. It also aims to revitalize communities in tandem with empowering law enforcement and strengthening judicial processes.

All of these actions will be paired with enhanced supports for Yukoners with mental health and substance use issues. Prevention, treatment and enforcement are the pillars of this plan.

The Yukon Party will revitalize downtown by:

• Working with the City of Whitehorse to prioritize investments aimed at restoring and invigorating the downtown area, while encouraging private sector investment in development.
• Drawing on the many independent studies and reports which recommend a decentralization of social services in and around 405 Alexander Street.
• Conducting a comprehensive review of the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter and its operating model, considering alternative locations and options for sheltering services.
• Reviewing and consulting on alternative uses for some or all of the current Whitehorse Emergency Shelter Building.

The Yukon Party will also work to address the opioid and substance use crisis by:

• Shifting the focus of government to increase addiction treatment options, enhance prevention, and provide the necessary resources to crack down on illegal drug dealers.
• Increasing the emphasis on prevention, addiction treatment and enforcement, while recognizing the ongoing role of effective and properly managed harm reduction.
• Building on the work of provinces, including BC and Ontario, and the experience of the Yukon’s Community Wellness Court, to work with justice and health care stakeholders to launch:
• A Pilot Program to expand the options available to sentenced offenders to appropriate addiction treatment, mental health care and aftercare. For those convicted of low-level crimes where addictions played a significant factor, this could be an alternative, recovery-focused intervention to help prevent individuals from re-offending.

The Yukon Party will more effectively support the RCMP by providing more resources to match the territory’s growing population and presence of organized crime and by:

• Exploring the development of a crime prevention program which facilitates partnerships between the RCMP, governments and community groups and focuses on the underlying issues which cause crime.
• Working with Yukon First Nations and the RCMP to determine how First Nation-led Community Safety Officers can be utilized effectively.
• Working with the RCMP to review the current capital plans for detachments to ensure the operational needs of the RCMP are prioritized.

A Yukon Party government is committed to decisive, immediate action to prioritize victims of crime to ensure they receive justice, empowering law enforcement and providing the RCMP with the resources they need and strengthening the judicial process by:

• Working with the Government of Canada to advance reform measures to end the current “Catch-and-Release” bail system.
• Advancing solutions, including working with the federal government, on options to provide guidance to public prosecutors in the Yukon to seek tougher bail conditions for repeat or violent offenders and those associated with organized crime, including denial of bail for repeat offenders and gang members.
• Providing resources to streamline judicial processes to reduce delays and ensure swift justice for victims.