Opposition politicians are questioning the communications around the handling of a dramatic situation involving an armed intruder Wednesday in the Whistle Bend subdivision.

The break-and-enter incident, in which no one was injured, was raised Thursday in the legislature.

The RCMP are still looking to the public for assistance in identifying the suspect.

At about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, police received a call about the break-and-enter.

“The caller reported that they could observe on home surveillance cameras a person who appeared to be carrying a weapon and attempting to enter a home,” police said.

“Police immediately attended the area. The officers on scene established that the person left the home while police were on their way to the neighbourhood.

“Police appreciated co-operation from the public, as some roads in Whistle Bend were temporarily closed for public safety.”

Investigators are now seeking to identify the suspect. The person is described as approximately five feet, eight inches to five feet, 10 inches tall, with an average build.

The suspect was wearing a black or dark brown sweater with white writing on the sleeve, a black face mask and dark sunglasses, a dark hat or hood and yellow gloves.

“The hat/hood is obscuring any further physical descriptors,” police said.

Yukon Party MLA Yvonne Clarke, whose riding includes Whistle Bend, told the House that since the incident, several of her constituents have raised concerns.

“Many people were blocked from accessing the community and were denied access to their homes because of apparent danger. Despite this, school buses were still able to drop off kids in Whistle Bend,” Clarke pointed out.

NDP Leader Kate White later told reporters it was no wonder parents are upset in Whistle Bend.

“I can’t imagine having a little kid on a bus being dropped off in an area that I couldn’t get to because it was barricaded by RCMP, but my child was still getting off a bus to go home,” she said.

Justice Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee told reporters the government has been in touch with RCMP, and at no time was the safety of children in question.

“I can note that the Safer Schools Action Plan does have protocols in place in the event that buses needed to be stopped going into neighbourhoods or dropping off kids in certain places if there was any danger to them,” McPhee said.

“And speculation about that danger, I think is just really irresponsible, I think is the word that I would say, but I think, unfortunately, news travels fast in small communities, and sometimes it’s not always the accurate news,” she said.

McPhee told the House the government recognizes the issue as an extremely serious situation, but that the matter is squarely up to the RCMP.

“The investigation of a very serious incident in our city is obviously still ongoing. I have not yet been provided with the details of that investigation, and I urge Yukoners to not speculate on what may or may not have happened during that incident,” McPhee told MLAs.

She said the RCMP have demonstrated their ability to keep the community safe on many occasions.

“On more than one occasion, they have put themselves in harm’s way to protect Yukoners,” she noted.

“I think they should be able to continue their investigation, and ultimately they have been very strong in making public statements about their work, when they are able to do so, and I expect they will do the same now,” she added.

But Clarke said her constituents are concerned about the lack of general communication about the incident from both the RCMP and the government.

“Here is a concern that I received (Thursday) morning from a constituent. I’m quoting: ‘In recent years, Canadians have learned through tragic events the importance of public communication from the RCMP — and government — involving suspects with guns.’

“The fact is that yesterday’s incident took place on a residential street when children were returning from school,” Clarke said.

“There was no official communication, which meant that the public’s only source of information was the rumour mill and citizens’ posts on social media. This is concerning,” Clarke added.

Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon told reporters that communication should have come sooner.

“We certainly heard from people that when they heard that people were being denied access to their homes or to Whistle Bend caused a lot of fear, and people began to worry more, and I think in a void of communication people start filling in themselves, and you see a lot of discourse going back and forth on social media.

“You see a lot of questions being asked, people reaching out to each other asking, you know, asking people individually how what they’re supposed to do, how they should respond,” Dixon said.

“And I think that absence of communication from either the government or the RCMP is something that needs to be looked at and considered in the fall from this,” he added.

A couple of months ago, Dixon recalled, there was an RCMP training exercise in the downtown area, and “people were really upset about it.

“Seeing what looks like RCMP in full tactical gear going through your backyard is alarming when you’re not expecting it, of course. And the RCMP came back at that time and said they recognize that they should communicate,” Dixon said.

White told reporters, “And I think the real challenge and what we really saw and what we hear today (Thursday) is that people didn’t know what was going on. And that was frightening; that caused fear.”

Premier Ranj Pillai said there are still a number of things the government is trying to find out, such as when information became available to the public and what protocols were followed.

“We are taking this issue very seriously,” he said. “I had a discussion (Thursday) with the minister of Justice concerning the investigation, just looking into finding out what details we can know throughout the day.

“I had a communication exchange (Thursday) morning with one of the leaders from our community as well as with the mayor of Whitehorse,” Pillai told MLAs.

“Yes, of course, situations that have occurred across the country have all taught us lessons,” he added.

“I think everybody was very heightened with their anxiety (Wednesday) — a pretty brazen situation that we have all seen — and looking into it. We will bring those answers to the legislative assembly,” Pillai said.

Clarke countered, “Many people in Whistle Bend community found the lack of official communication about the incident worrying and unacceptable.”

She added that some residents have asked about the possibility of using broad outreach tools like alerts which can be sent directly to people’s cell phones.

“Can the government tell us when they use direct-to-phone alerts and whether such an alert was considered in this situation where a person armed with a gun was being pursued by the police in a residential neighbourhood?” Clarke asked.

McPhee told reporters emergency alert processes can be triggered, but Wednesday’s incident was strictly the RCMP’s call.

“We do have an emergency alert process that can be triggered by the RCMP or by Yukon government Emergency Services Emergency Measures office,” the minister said.

“I note that that was not used (Wednesday) afternoon. That would have been their call and their decision,” McPhee said.

Dixon told reporters, “I think if the RCMP are pursuing someone who’s armed, I think that’s a reasonable communication to remind people to stay indoors or lock the doors or something like that.

“But I’m not an expert in this field, and I would concede that but I would say that a complete absence of communication, other than a press release and understanding indicated in the evening, I don’t think it’s sufficient.”

Dixon said many people are also indicating to the government that they don’t find that acceptable

“They need to hear something. And even if it’s a limited amount of communication that something’s going on, and they’ve got it handled.

“That’s enough for people, I think, but just their complete absence of communication is unacceptable to a lot of people,” Dixon said.

Pillai said Clarke’s questions were significant and good, but he did not want to provide any inaccurate information, preferring to wait for the Justice department to speak with the RCMP.

“I will say to Yukoners: please, if you saw a situation (Wednesday) that seemed out of the ordinary in Whistle Bend, if you are aware of information that could help in the investigation, please reach out to the RCMP and provide that information.

“I think it’s important that, as a community, we come together and provide as much accurate information as possible,” the premier said.

“I think that we will have a chance to come back to the House and to the member opposite on some of the pieces and the protocol — the timing and some of the things that were undertaken — because, as was stated by the member opposite, we are all aware of some sort of the hearsay on what has played out, but I want to ensure that the information that’s brought back to the House is accurate,” Pillai added.

As of early this afternoon, the RCMP had not commented on the communications concerns nor posted any updates on their search for the suspect on their website.