Yukon Government must help review building permits

WHITEHORSE – The Yukon Party Official Opposition is again suggesting the Liberal Government help the City of Whitehorse address the current backlog of building permits. Yukoners are missing out on much needed housing options due to delays in approving such permits.

On June 3, Whitehorse city councillors started raising the alarm about the growing backlog of building permit applications with an anticipated wait time of five to eight weeks. Officials indicated the delays were due to a lack of staff and resources.

New data made public on July 11 indicated there have only been 120 building permits approved to date, which is just 24 more than when councillors first raised the issue. In addition, the number of permits in the process has grown by almost 50 per cent to 104 since then, with the longest wait now at eight weeks. During the Yukon’s short building season, losing a full two months can make the difference between a house being ready or having to wait a year for completion.

“Yukoners and contractors want to see more housing and it is important that the Yukon government does everything they can to help them build more units in the territory,” said Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon. “We are recommending that the Yukon Government engage the City of Whitehorse to provide additional resources so that they can speed up the approval process for these permits and get Yukoners building houses.”

Last August, Porter Creek Centre MLA Yvonne Clarke warned the Liberal government that a bottleneck for development permit applications was coming, and additional resources should be provided to the City. The advice came following Minister Mostyn’s decision to release Whistle Bend lots before they were complete leaving a short time frame at the end of summer. It created a surge of applications at the end of the year and the City has now lagged on approvals throughout 2024.

“The Liberal-made housing crisis in the Yukon needs cooperation from all levels of government and leadership from the Yukon government,” said Clarke, “They chose to ignore our advice last year and Yukoners in search of homes are now paying the price. We hope they will act this summer to ensure Yukoners can build urgently needed housing in Whitehorse.”

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Contact:
Tim Kucharuk
Media Director
(867) 689-7874

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