Revised - Premier Ranj Pillai embarked on a field trip Tuesday evening to visit a couple of members of the city’s homeless population.

The catalyst for his foray surfaced Monday, when NDP MLA Lane Tredger told the legislature there are “dozens of people” living in tents in the Whitehorse area.

According to Tredger, they include former residents of the former High Country Inn, some of whom are still seeking accommodation following the facility’s closure on March 31 for renovations.

Cabinet communications advisor Laura Seeley advised the Star this morning, “I can confirm that Premier Pillai met with two individuals last night. These individuals, who provided their consent through Safe at Home, engaged in a conversation with (the) premier that lasted over an hour.

“To date, the NDP caucus has neither provided any information beyond their comments in the House, nor have they accepted our offer to join as we listen to individuals with lived experience.”

Seeley added, “It’s worth noting that premier didn’t just ‘show up’ at their accommodations unexpectedly.

“They met offsite at a third location determined by these individuals.”

As Tredger recalled in the legislature Monday, on March 25, the premier stated, “We want to make sure that those individuals do have a spot in the interim before we see the construction done.”

Tredger said, “Unfortunately, despite the premier’s promises, we are hearing from people who used to live in the High Country Inn who are now completely homeless. Some are at the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter and some have resorted to sleeping in tents.”

Tredger then asked, “Of the 26 people who used to live in the High Country Inn, how many have been provided with housing?”

Pillai replied, “We are hearing right now that some individuals have gone back to their home communities because they do have supports in rural Yukon, in some cases with the First Nations.

“We know that some non-profit organizations are finding other opportunities. I know that some of those individuals as well have been absorbed into the housing stock at Yukon Housing.”

Pillai added, “Some of the language that was used in the start of this question — I don’t know if that is factual. But I will come back to the House with exact information about where all of these folks are staying.”

Tredger noted some hotels evict tenants every spring to make room for tourists, advising the House that the River View on Front Street has already evicted all its long-term tenants.

“Many of the people who were formerly living in a hotel are now sleeping in tents,” Tredger said.

“(Sunday) night, we saw snowfall in Whitehorse. It is still below zero at night. Living in a tent should never be someone’s only option for housing, and it certainly shouldn’t when it’s below freezing.

“What is the premier doing to find housing right now for the people made homeless by hotel evictions?”

Pillai responded, “Over the spring, we did as many renovations as we possibly could to existing stock so that we could open it up and be able to move these folks into those rooms — more renovations than we have done in many years.”

Tredger came back with their assertion that, “Right now — today — there are dozens of people living in tents in Whitehorse, even though it’s only April.”

Tredger asked the premier what he will do about it.

Pillai replied, “I’m going to make a commitment on the floor of the House right now. The member opposite said that there are dozens of people living in tents in Whitehorse as of (Sunday) night.

“So, I will go there with you; I will meet with those individuals and we will find appropriate housing for those dozens of people.

“I’m ready to go (Monday) night, so let me know after the day where they are at and we’ll go (Monday) evening and meet with them,” Pillai said.

“I want to know where these dozens of people are. I wasn’t made aware that there are dozens of people in tents.”

As it turned out, instead of venturing out with Tredger on Monday evening, the premier embarked on his own on Tuesday evening.

Pillai told reporters Monday, “I think I have an obligation to go there and speak with those individuals, and I called the Yukon Housing Corporation and said, ‘be aware that I want to come up with some temporary solutions for all of these individuals that are out there.’

“We want to make sure that they have an opportunity to transition into units.”

He was asked to clarify the number of people from the former High Country Inn still looking for homes.

“We thought the number was much less until the comments came out (Monday) by MLA Tredger,” Pillai replied.

Pillai was also asked if he had an idea of where the homeless people would be camping.

“No. I was made aware that there was a few folks in an area on the clay cliffs.”

Reporters asked Tredger about the source of their information regarding people in tents.

“I’ve been hearing that from frontline workers who are supporting those people and from concerned citizens who are coming across them as they move around the city,” they said.

Tredger hasn’t met with any of the homeless people yet.

“I haven’t personally spoken with them. I think a lot of those folks really want privacy.”

As for an evening excursion with Pillai, Tredger replied, “I think he said that because he doesn’t believe that those people are actually there.

“The idea that the way to do housing is to take the premier wandering around to people’s tents at night and offering them a place to live – that’d be a wildly irresponsible way to do housing. It would make no sense, and also it would be really invasive for the people.”

The Whitehorse Centre MLA added, “I wouldn’t take him into people’s living rooms without asking. I’m not going to take him into people’s tents without asking.”

For months, Tredger said, the government knew this would happen.

“They’ve known that Safe at Home’s High Country project was going to close for months. So why he can act surprised now that there are people sleeping in tents? I don’t get it,” they said.

Tredger refused to disclose the location (s) of the tents.

“I don’t have the permission of the people tenting to do that. So I don’t want to share their location.”

As for a long-term solution to homelessness, Tredger added, “For some people who are homeless, it’s because there’s a lot of barriers to being housed for them, not just having a place, so we also need supported housing. And that’s some part of the conversation I don’t hear about a lot.”

Kate Mechan, Safe at Home’s executive director, clarified Tuesday there were 28 people, including two couples, living in 26 units at the ex-High Country Inn.

Of those, she told the Star, “We have two, three individuals that we know are actively camping right now. Another handful are couch-surfing.

“A very few are at the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter. We were able to secure some hotel rooms for April and for some folks May before those close out for tourism.

“Four individuals found permanent housing, which is great.”

Mechan said former residents with pets could possibly be the ones camping. Pets were permitted at the former High Country Inn.

The Hearth, as it will be called after the renovations, will have 67 units when it opens in early 2026. Former residents aren’t guaranteed units, as a lot can change in two years.

“We certainly don’t want to guarantee people units currently, because we want people to be actively pursuing permanent housing options in the interim,” said Mechan.

Not including the $10.6-million purchase price, the tab for the renovationa of the ex-High Country Inn sits at about $30 million.

Most of the money is coming from the feds, with YG kicking in around $12.9 million through various programs, including the purchase of the Fourth Avenue building.

Mechan added, “A variety of service providers, including Safe at Home, are working really hard with few resources for the types of resources that people with complex trauma need, like supportive housing, and so, this isn’t a Safe at Home issue.

“We come up against camping, and the idea of encampments every spring, and we have for a long time,” she pointed out.

“So, I really hope that this is an opportunity to address the more urgent need for different types of housing, than just shelter.”