A week dominated by health care points to a looming showdown in Yukon politics
Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon largely sidestepped an opportunity to defend his health critic on Thursday after the premier launched an attack on Brad Cathers's record leading the file.
Speaking with reporters for the first time during the sitting, Premier Ranj Pillai fired back at the opposition, putting the spotlight on Cathers, who was the health and social services minister from 2006 to 2008.
"It's hard for us to be in there, understanding the track record of Brad Cathers when it comes to being a health minister. All I could say is he turned that hospital into an absolute mess … it was a dumpster fire," Pillai said. "So when you hear 'this is the change we need,' we know that it would be more of the same with folks."
The matter Pillai referred to involved the resignation of the Whitehorse hospital's board chair, Marny Ryder, in November 2006. Ryder would later speak out about strained communication between the board and the minister, capacity issues, funding and conflicts between doctors and the hospital's CEO.
Following Ryder's comments, a group of doctors called for CEO Michael Aerberhardt to resign. The board of the Yukon Hospital Corporation supported Aeberhardt before eventually firing him in August 2007.
When asked to comment on Cathers's legacy, Dixon said he was in university at the time.
"It was over 20 years ago so I don't really recall his time as health minister, if I'm perfectly honest," he said. "But Brad has a long history in the legislature in a variety of portfolios and he's been a great colleague to work with."
Pillai also invoked memories of the Dennis Fentie government following a week in the legislature that was dominated by discussions about healthcare, a key ballot box issue in this year's election, which must take place no later than Nov. 3.
His Liberal government faced a barrage of questions from the Yukon Party about whether it would carry out the Official Opposition's proposals to headhunt U.S. doctors and form a task force aimed at reducing the administrative burden for family doctors.
In both cases, the government countered that it was already working to recruit from abroad and has a joint committee with doctors to discuss cutting red tape.
Pillai said his government has been focused on confronting challenges like the doctor shortage, building infrastructure and integrating First Nations governance into the education system.
He challenged the Yukon Party to do more than criticize and present some policy alternatives.
"What I see is a group of individuals in the opposition that have collectively sat in those seats for 103 years, that all seem like they're going to continue to be part of that caucus, and they're selling change," Pillai said.
"So we'll wait and see. The 'everything's broken' narrative, I think Yukoners are tired of and that's what I've been hearing time and time again from the opposition."
Dixon rejected Pillai's characterization, saying it's health professionals themselves who have said that the healthcare system is in crisis.
He also trumpeted two Yukon Party motions that were passed unanimously by MLAs on opposition Wednesday, expressing hope that the government will act on them. While the wordings of both motions were amended on the floor, they still reflected the proposals presented by the Yukon Party this week.
But on his party's criticism of the government, Dixon made no apologies, citing the opposition's job.
"From time to time, we'll ask questions on behalf of constituents. From time to time, we will criticize government policy and from time to time, we'll raise our own plans or express our vision of what should be done instead," he said.
"But naturally, the best time really for Yukoners to see two competing visions is an election. And that's when we release a platform."
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