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WHITEHORSE – On March 31, MLAs in the Yukon Legislative Assembly unanimously passed third reading of Bill No. 11, Act to Amend the Child and Family Services Act (2022).
Yukon Party MLAs were happy to support the bill, and thank all those who put their time and effort into making the bill a reality.
The bill passed despite two independent officers of the Yukon Legislative Assembly highlighting that the Minister failed to include their input in its development.
On March 23, the Child and Youth Advocate Office (CYAO) wrote to the Minister outlining how it was not consulted and did not have a chance to provide comment until after the bill was drafted. The CYAO also says the process in which the government came up with the amendments did not allow for consideration of its input. Specifically, the CYAO was concerned that the bill does not uphold the rights of children as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition, the CYAO says their amendments were part of a Child Rights Impact Assessment tabled in the legislature that were not included in the final bill.
On March 11, the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) wrote to all three leaders expressing how Bill 11 would have unintended consequences. This included having the amendments remove an individual’s right to access certain personal health information under the Health Information Privacy and Management Act.
We urge the government to consult with both the CYAO and IPC on these matters, and report to the Yukon Legislative Assembly that those concerns have been addressed.
Attachments:
March 23 letter to the Minister from the CYAO.
March 11 letter from the IPC.
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Contact:
Tim Kucharuk
Media Director
(867) 689-7874
