Whitehorse Daily Star

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GOVERNMENT PREPARATION QUESTIONED – Steve Geick, the president of the Yukon Employees’ Union, says poor planning has led to the current scenario of the Department of Health and Social Services encouraging staff to offer housing to new arrivals who have accepted jobs at the Whistle Bend care facility, seen above last week.

YG turns inward for housing for new workers

As the Yukon government gears up to open the doors of the Whistle Bend continuing care facility in October, it’s looking to help out-of-territory workers in their search for housing in a “tight market.”

By Palak Mangat on July 16, 2018

As the Yukon government gears up to open the doors of the Whistle Bend continuing care facility in October, it’s looking to help out-of-territory workers in their search for housing in a “tight market.”

That’s according to a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Services.

Patricia Living confirmed today that it’s trying its best to connect new workers with housing opportunities – and is looking no further than its own department.

“We have undertaken a number of activities – as any good future employer would – in trying to provide staff who are interested in moving to the Yukon with a number of options,” said Living, the department’s director of communications and social marketing.

“One of the issues that has been raised is housing, simply because of the number of people we’re looking for.”

Those numbers are broken down as follows: the site is expected to host about 250 staff - half of whom have already been hired.

Roughly 150 of the total workers are from outside the territory, with the remaining 100 coming locally.

Living confirmed that there had been posters put up about the possibility of existing HSS employees offering housing to future workers, along with a notice in an internal newsletter sent around early July.

“It’s an open call – we’re not tracking people down, we’re not going after people,” she said, adding that the department began postering during the middle of May.

“We have had a number of responses that were all quite positive,” Living said, adding there have been more than a dozen interested staff.

“So nobody has said ‘what are you doing?’” she added.

Meanwhile, the president of the Yukon Employees’ Union said the government has known for at least years that it will need to house new workers.

“It’s kind of a bizarre way to go about things,” Steve Geick told the Star, noting that the department doesn’t necessarily have an obligation to provide housing.

“I think it’s poor planning on their part.”

Living said that while bringing more than 200 staff onboard is a significant undertaking, she is happy to provide as many options to new workers as possible.

“Hiring for Whistle Bend is an unprecedented exercise for the Yukon government,” she said, adding that it is simply providing a tool to connect new hires with housing opportunities.

“We are not in the business of building houses or apartment buildings,” she said, rather “giving people another options that may provide some interim relief.”

Still, Geick noted that housing shortages can be common in terms of supply and demand but also when it comes to affordable housing.

“That’s not going to get any better with a bunch of people in town,” he said.

“When you open up 150 beds, that’s an awful lot of staff to run a 24-hour facility,” Geick said. He added he hopes the government is not relying on its existing employees to bridge the long-term gap.

“I hope it’s an interim solution for them,” he said, while Living added: “we’re probably seeing it as a temporary relationship, but it may not be.

“There’s a viable market if you look for it,” especially in Whitehorse, she said. She added that she knows people are finding places to live, but hasn’t spoken directly to them to see where.

Geick said the situation was emblematic of a bigger concern of a housing shortage in the territory.

“Very seldom would you move somewhere where it’s the employer’s responsibility to find you housing,” he explained.

Technically speaking, he added, the government does not have a direct obligation to find housing for its new employees.

“It’s a much bigger picture than what affects Whistle Bend,” he said,

Meanwhile, Living acknowledged that there is a bit of shortage.

“We admit the market is tight and we are doing what we can to work with people to ensure that they have the best options available to them.”

But Geick suggested it may be a bit of a delayed response on the department’s end.

“When this came up, one of our first questions is where are they going to live,” he said, though admitting that he wasn’t sure of many alternatives.

“If you’ve got a rental property available and you don’t mind renting it out to someone you’ll be working with – it’s whatever, have at it!” he laughed, noting that personally, he would likely not want to.

He did commend the department in its efforts to hire locally, though.

“I think they’ve maximized the potential for in-territory workers,” he said, adding the government seems to have “exhausted” the Yukon for local talent.

For her part, Living pointed out that a successful arrangement may not necessarily mean that workers from the same branch end of living together.

“We have about 1,300 employees in four different branches,” she said. “It’s quite possible there’s no crossover – there may be but there may not be.”

Meanwhile, Living maintained that the housing shortage would not push back the date that has been set for the facility to begin accepting residents.

“We don’t see that happening,” she said, adding that the project itself is still on track to be open in October.

Comments (24)

Up 0 Down 3

Miles Klondike on Jul 21, 2018 at 6:37 pm

Maybe those snowflakes who complain about everything can sell and move south or rent through a management firm and move south.

You know who I mean, the ones who want to shoot bears feeding peacefully alongside roads, the olditime yukoners who blame, blame, blame.

Up 14 Down 2

Groucho d'North on Jul 19, 2018 at 2:46 pm

The issue of staff housing - that is government provided or subsidized housing for YG employees- has been a pointy issue for many years. Back in the day when the north was still an untamed and frozen wasteland Isolated post allowances and subsidized housing were required to attract workers to jobs. That was then and this is now, but governments do not have the courage to address this inequity. I used to be a YG employee, but I already owned my own home so I did not receive any perks related to my family's housing needs. Same problem exists today as teachers and nurses newly hired receive benefits not available to existing employees. I propose these newbys should get housing support for 90 days- so they can acclimate to their new community, then they must deal in the private real estate market like the rest of us. Yes YG must compete with other governments to recruit new professionals, but housing should not be an incentive when our housing market is as it presently is.

Up 14 Down 3

Donovan on Jul 19, 2018 at 9:44 am

I am no fan of this guberment....But...this is a problem the YP should have figured into the original development plan. This was a clear case of "we will deal with it later". Now the Current guberment has come up with another "band aid for a bullet hole" idea!!! Can't wait for the next election.

Up 10 Down 3

Hugh Mungus on Jul 18, 2018 at 8:54 pm

@ Nile. Remember when the YP designed this project and completely missed the staff housing issue?

Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Up 3 Down 0

ProScience Greenie on Jul 18, 2018 at 3:36 pm

Copy that OJW. All good as usual. Keep swinging the hammer.

Up 15 Down 2

Nile on Jul 18, 2018 at 2:58 pm

The Liberal government has know for 2 years that this would be an issue and they haven’t done anything to deal with it.

Up 8 Down 4

Josey Wales on Jul 18, 2018 at 1:37 pm

Hey PSG...clearly not a fan of the Donald eh?
Cool I get that, really I do.
Many of your points are valid, a tad hyperbolic...but valid.
In the reference of my desire for a “trump” is not so much the man, but his non PC Crusader voice, the apple cart flipping skill he clearly has, his ability to have the cultural Marxists spin into freakout mode.

Or perhaps better stated rather than a Trump, a leader for us folks whom puts our interests ahead of...say?
Demographic dilution policies...
Kissing the arses of the PC sycophants...
Having approximately 40 million Canuks pay the bills of foreign failed states...
After decades PSG of having PC monodrones regurgitate treasonous nonesense, darkness via absolute propaganda called cable TV, both commi-lite and Shariah creep unchallenged?
That bright light is being shone on those uncomfortable topics of how we got into this mess.

I myself am a western chauvinist and make zero apologies for it, nor my lack of melanoma. Others, many of them hold very diametric views on where we...the western free world should/could/may/will go moving forward.
Whilst shameful that America seemed to boil down to he or she, as that was all she ( the country) could muster?
There, I would much rather see he in the Whitehouse than the she “liar liar pants suit on fire” option. The first First Man, could never be Bill Clinton...USA was not ready for that stupidity.
Given the option of being liked Vs. being effective and having the bills paid? Then call me a pariah I suppose.

PSG mr dress up speaks well enough, educated, reads too, agreeably arrogant....might we agree on those?
That said, IMO Mr. Dress Up truly is a treasonous globalist that looks nice on GQ but is himself a big danger to Canada.
Might not surprise ya to read again IMO, his daddy truly did begin the biggest mess in Canada’s kitchen ever ....hands down Thee biggest.
So lingering the policies of P.E.T. In the tumour of the PC Crusade, that being led by 2.0 with his fetish of diversity at all costs, his being enamoured with the seventh century sycophants....blah blah.

Is precisely why I do like the Donald, very refreshing change from the cut and paste political blowholes.
PSG...you know the kind, we have many here in our parts.
To that there should be no argument?

Up 16 Down 1

north_of_60 on Jul 18, 2018 at 12:53 pm

Why didn't the government anticipate this and encourage developers to build apartment blocks near the CC facility? This government is so short-sighted and inept.

Up 21 Down 2

Common sense on Jul 18, 2018 at 12:24 pm

Why can't they find housing like the rest of us have to when we work and live in the Yukon?

Up 15 Down 0

Yukon Watchdog on Jul 17, 2018 at 5:22 pm

And now HSS has a tender out looking for Yukoners to do their work for them for nothing. Figure out where to put these outside hires, figure out how to deal with the rental situation, but no promises that we will use your info or your rental.... fml

Up 11 Down 11

Dean LaRue on Jul 17, 2018 at 12:43 pm

"the Whistle Bend continuing care facility"

the Darrell Drugstore GIFT that just keeps on giving

Up 0 Down 9

ProScience Greenie on Jul 17, 2018 at 12:33 pm

A Trump OJW? Surely you don't mean a loudmouth, weak, spoiled, poorly read, shady failed business person from a super elite NYC family that made it's fortunes grifting federal money, slum-lording, strategic bankruptcy, stiffing contractors and rubbing shoulders with domestic and foreign organized crime criminals. And lots more. What good would that do besides give some cheap, artificial populist entertainment to divide and distract.

While the SJW crew is indeed causing lots of problems and living well off the gravy train, bringing in higher level Trump-like greed and grift will only make the problems worse as those bandits love to empty our pockets as much as any others with huge swaths of collateral damage in their wake. Believe me.

Nope, you don't send Soapy Smith in to do a housecleaning. Not wise. Better ways to fix the problems, number one being holding all damaging players feet to the fire which is an area of expertise for you OJW but please, be better than recommending an ethics-free Grifter in Chief type taking over the helm.

Up 16 Down 13

ProScience Greenie on Jul 17, 2018 at 11:42 am

Way less of these issues if facilities were built in the communities and a smaller one in Whitehorse but the YP under Paz was all about getting the gravy to Whitehorse with just a few crumbs here and there to the communities.

Also, expect more beds to be needed as many Outside hires bring up their elderly parents.
The YP owns the good, bad and ugly about this facility way more than the current Libs.

Up 15 Down 2

Juniper Jackson on Jul 17, 2018 at 10:39 am

I think there probably is a housing shortage if they are looking for 250 residences.. but day to day..the shortage is likely not in accommodation, but the hefty price tag for same..Rents up to $2200 plus utilities is not affordable to me.. a home for sale of upwards of 395.000. is also not affordable to me. While a $100,000 trailer is affordable to me, pad rents around town are upwards of $500 a month and going up steadily every year with no end in sight for these trapped trailer owners.. a rental belongs to someone and that person has every right to charge whatever they want to charge.. I'm just saying that some landlords, and house sellers, have priced themselves out of anyone's ability to pay. At $2200 a month rent, that renter is constantly looking for a less expensive roof.

Up 18 Down 3

Max Mack on Jul 17, 2018 at 9:17 am

So, what about housing relief for all the existing employees? Hmmm?

Up 14 Down 3

Bandit on Jul 17, 2018 at 8:35 am

I am not sure of the arrangement surrounding the Nurses residences on Hospital road. So how about this idea, don't allow the zoning amendment on Randy Audettes property in Whistlebend, he can build a nice looking apartment building similar to the one on Hospital road and YG, Yukon Hospital corp. and CoW can buy it from him and they can become the landlord. Problem solved.

Up 14 Down 0

Sillig on Jul 17, 2018 at 6:52 am

There are lots of places for folks who can pay to rent.
Same BS and spin.
Still, it would be profitable and make sense to open some goddam land for folks who don't have any to build on.
GTFTW on that.

Up 14 Down 5

Groucho d'North on Jul 16, 2018 at 10:52 pm

This is a great opportunity for the Ta'an and Kwanlin Dun to pitch a deal for some mass housing projects. Justine will write a few cheques - he's in election mode wearing his Builder Bob socks and everything.

Up 14 Down 1

What an opportunity on Jul 16, 2018 at 8:34 pm

for individuals and developers of all sizes, now if there was just some affordable land ...

Up 14 Down 1

yt voter on Jul 16, 2018 at 7:03 pm

So, they have hired 125 out of 250. 100 were to be hired locally, so lets assume they have already hired that 100 from here.
That's a lot of people looking for housing, never mind a national nursing shortage.
This really should have been part of the original planning process back when the Yukon Party was first pushing an extended care facility. They should have been offering cash bonuses to Yukon high school grads who would sign up to return with a nursing degree. Yet here we are.
And I'm still not convinced we have seen the last of the foundation issues on the building. This will be a gift that keeps on giving, for years.

Up 15 Down 1

Josey Wales on Jul 16, 2018 at 6:29 pm

This redefines wrong, wrong, wrong and yes even more wrong than I care to illustrate.
Politically...wrong!
Administration wise...it most certainly is not “wise”...as it is so so very wrong!
Prudent use of taxes? In the manipulation of this buildings very existence AAAAAaaaaaaannnD, so very commi like renting it to yourself to house your nobility/comrades!
Competing with private sector and using their taxes whilst....so so commi like.
Seems like Deep State North of 60 is running this gong show.

Whomever first proposed this “solution” should get the most entitled idea award, perhaps fired and trebucheted the hell back to see the rest of their comrades back way east.
West would work too, but heaps more winding needed to launch east...more time aloft to ponder for the fool.

OK I could not help myself.....JHC....this is sooooo effin wrong.

That it could only be brought to fruition in this unaccountable and clearly corrupt sh**hole that is now our everyday Yukon/ Whitehorse.
Cannot believe the levels of total shii**iiT we tolerate up here.
I seriously for real....cannot.


Hate me more if you must, that said...we so need a Trump up here biggly.
Far too many Hillary types up here....yup I said both of those things.
....if you must?

Up 13 Down 4

BnR on Jul 16, 2018 at 6:05 pm

I bet Streicker, Pillai, Mostyn and Silver have already offered up space.
I purposely didn't include Miss Frost as she has been hung out to dry enough by the 4 Stooges.

Up 25 Down 7

Lost In the Yukon on Jul 16, 2018 at 4:27 pm

Nice to know that housing the homeless (and poor) is a can that the Minister of HSS can keep kicking down the road but for people making close to $100,000 a year they are prepared to move mountains and cut through red tape.

Up 21 Down 1

Tater on Jul 16, 2018 at 3:54 pm

Well, the Yukon Housing property at 32 Pelly has been vacant for 3 (three) years except for about 4 months. So I don't know about any housing shortage.......

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