Whitehorse's downtown safety plan promises much, but some wonder if it will deliver

Some Yukon MLAs and one Whitehorse non-government organization that operates a supervised consumption site say the territory's new safety plan for the city's downtown has some positive aspects — but other parts of it miss the mark.

In interviews with CBC, Whitehorse Centre NDP MLA Lane Tredger, Lake Laberge Yukon Party MLA Brad Cathers and Blood Ties Four Directions Centre's Jill Aalhus all pointed to longstanding issues in Whitehorse's downtown core — particularly how precarious housing is.

"People who live downtown have been raising concerns for a long time, but it wasn't until the business community sort of threatened action that this government paid attention. And I think that really speaks to who they're paying attention to," Tredger said.

The Yukon government recently announced a plan aimed at improving public safety in Whitehorse's downtown area and expanding support services for vulnerable people. It lists a number of short-and long-term initiatives, and is partly a response to concerns around the Whitehorse emergency shelter and the complaints of neighbouring businesses.

Entrance to the Blood Ties supervised consumption site. (Asad Chishti/CBC)

Tredger said some elements of the plan are welcome, like an emphasis on "root causes" such as housing. One of the plan's initiatives directs the Yukon Housing Corporation to develop a "rapid response to homelessness" plan.

"The question is whether they can deliver on it," Tredger said. "They've spent a lot of money and a lot of time on plans for many years without action."

Jill Aalhus, the executive director for Blood Ties Four Directions, said safety is a complex issue.

"There's a lot of nuances around what safety looks like and what perceived safety is," she said.

Blood Ties helps to operate a supervised consumption site in the downtown area, which has been in operation for just over two years.

"We haven't noticed or heard from the people we work with about an increased lack of safety in the downtown area," Aalhus said.

Cathers, who is the official opposition critic for Health and Social Services, said his party agrees with the concept of decentralizing some support services downtown — another key part of the plan, which businesses had been asking for.

"We do have some concerns about how well the government's plan to do that will actually work," he added.

Tredger said the government also needs to address issues like getting people into housing, which would help reduce demand for the emergency shelter.

"In a perfect world, no one would need the emergency shelter," they said.