Premier Scapegoats City of Whitehorse in Speech on Downtown Safety

WHITEHORSE – The Yukon Party Official Opposition is calling on Liberal Premier Ranj Pillai to explain his comments about the City of Whitehorse he made in a speech to the Council of Yukon First Nations General Assembly on July 30. In that speech, the Premier criticized the city for their alleged absence in work to keep downtown Whitehorse safe.

The Premier’s speech to the CYFN General Assembly included this quote:

“Our efforts to make downtown Whitehorse a safer, more welcoming place for everyone in the community – regardless of where they are in their health and wellness journey – is missing a valuable partner in the City of Whitehorse. In their absence, we are doing our best to work with Yukon First Nations to have more culturally supportive, appropriate treatment options for substance users, but we need the city to come to the table.”

The Premier needs to explain these comments and why he claims the city has been absent in issues related to downtown safety.

“The premier seems to be yet again trying to deflect the blame for his government’s failure to address the issues associated with the operation of the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter, and not properly resourcing the RCMP for many years,” said Yukon Party Justice Critic, Brad Cathers. “It is neither fair nor accurate for the premier to place the blame for property crime and other problems in the downtown core on the City of Whitehorse. If the city has been asked to take certain actions, but has not done so, the premier should explain what those actions are; otherwise, it would appear he is simply using the city as a scapegoat.”

On July 31, the Yukon Party Official Opposition called on the Minister of Justice to add combatting property crime and addressing downtown safety to the list of policing priorities provided to the RCMP. The Liberal government has since brushed off this request.

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Contact:
Tim Kucharuk
Press Secretary
(867) 393-7026