Yukon government enters new 10-year contract for air ambulances
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CBC
30-07-2025
- CBC
Yukon government enters new 10-year contract for air ambulances
Yukoners can count on having air ambulance services for at least the next decade. The territorial government has signed a new 10-year contract with Alkan Air Limited.
CBC
24-04-2025
- CBC
NDP bill giving Yukon Medical Association bargaining rights, dispute resolution passes
A Yukon NDP private member's bill, touted by the party as being transformative for the territory's health-care system, passed third reading in the Yukon Legislative Assembly last week. Bill 310, introduced by NDP Leader Kate White, gives the Yukon Medical Association (YMA) representational rights and establishes processes for dispute resolution and binding arbitration. MLAs unanimously passed the Act Respecting the Yukon Medical Association on April 16. It will take effect on Jan. 1. Granting the YMA representational rights means the organization will become the sole bargaining agent for the territory's physicians on matters of compensation. Historically, the YMA could only negotiate with the Yukon government on behalf of doctors being paid on the fee-for-service model. Doctors who wanted to be paid through contracts would have to negotiate on their own. The YMA has said contracts now comprise more than half of physician remuneration. White called the passing of the legislation a "monumental occasion" in the Yukon. In a phone interview after third reading, she said the impact likely won't be obvious to Yukoners. However, she said the law will make the territory more competitive when it comes to attracting and retaining physicians. "Hopefully we're going to see some more clinics open, or certainly fewer clinics close. Hopefully we see some of these locums who've come through decide to stay," White said. Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee spoke in favour of the bill before third reading, saying it was a part of the government's work with doctors to improve the healthcare system and an opportunity to modernize it. "We have all inherited a health-care system that is more than 70 or 80 years old. Even if it's considered to be post-World War II, it's extremely old and it is based on a system that has not had a lot of evolution or changes over that period of time," McPhee said. The Yukon Party's health critic Brad Cathers also spoke about the need for change. "The fact is, for many decades, the fee-for-service model had almost all doctors practising under it, and in the last eight years, there has been a shift to more operating under alternative payment models, which makes this legislation necessary to address the situation," Cathers said. White's bill reached a final reading as a condition of the confidence and supply agreement between the NDP and governing Liberals. As the bill made its way through the legislature, the party toggled between presenting itself as a champion for physicians in the face of a reluctant opposition, while also conceding that assistance from the Liberals and Yukon Party made its advance possible. That contrast was pointed out by McPhee, who noted "hours of collaboration" to improve the legislation. She cited an NDP Facebook post on March 31 that nonetheless said it still needed to "convince" the other two parties to support the bill. White's response was that she never received a formal commitment of the Liberals' support until April 4. With the vote behind her, White credited the minority government for the cross-party collaboration. She also took pride in what the NDP accomplished. "I was very generous with my gratitude to the other parties. But ultimately Bill 310 came forward and it came to the floor and it was there because the Yukon NDP was willing to do the work and was willing to work with our partners at the Yukon Medical Association," she said.
CBC
22-03-2025
- CBC
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."
