The Yukon Party's inability to manage money has apparently cost Dawson City a new multi-level care facility, suggests Liberal Leader Arthur Mitchell.

Mitchell said budget figures released by Premier Dennis Fentie last Thursday afternoon indicate the new multi-level care facility under construction in Watson Lake is not only behind schedule, but is grossly over-budget to the tune of almost double what it was originally booked for.

Two years ago, the Watson Lake facility was budgeted at $5.2 million, and another $5.2 million was budgeted for a multi-level care facility in Dawson City, Mitchell pointed out.

The leader of the official Opposition said the new budget figures show $3 million has already been spent on the Watson Lake facility, and another $6.94 million is called for in the 2007-08 budget.

'This government has not been able to bring in any estimates that make any sense,' Mitchell charged. 'What this demonstrates is what a poor fiscal manager that the Yukon Party is.'

If not for the gobs of new federal money pouring into the territory, the Yukon would be in the poor house, the Liberal leader suggested.

He noted while the government has identified the higher level of spending for the Watson Lake facility, the same facility from Dawson City has disappeared from the books altogether.

A similar multi-level facility for the 1,850 residents of Dawson City has been sacrificed to pay for the mismanagement of the Watson Lake project, Mitchell suggested.

If he was a Dawsonite, he added, he'd be upset, and asking questions of Yukon Party MLA Steve Nordick, who represents the Klondike.

He said the Yukon Party's decision to sole-source much of the initial work in the premier's riding, instead of going through the normal competitive bid process, is at the root of the soaring costs.

Health Minister Brad Cathers said in an interview this morning the facility's additional cost is primarily due to design changes that came about at the insistence of seniors living in Watson Lake.

Making the rooms larger, he said, increased the overall size and cost of the building after the original $5.2 million was put on the books, in addition to labour and material costs that came in higher than expected.

Whether the $6.94 million identified last week is sufficient to complete the Watson Lake facility remains to be seen, though it's the expectation it will be, Cathers said.

He also pointed out that since he became the minister of Health and Social Services in early 2006, all work for the Watson Lake facility has and will go through the public tender process.

Cathers took over the portfolio after the former Health minister, ex-Klondike MLA Peter Jenkins, left the Yukon Party caucus in November 2005.

The Dawson City multi-level care facility will still go ahead, though there is a need to revisit community consultation, the minister said.

Cathers said the original design for the Dawson facility was larger than the budget available.

The government dismissed criticism of its decision to sole-source work for the Watson Lake project, citing a desire to fulfill the community's wish to keep the work local and ensure maximum economic benefits for Watson Lake.

NDP Leader Todd Hardy said if management of the Watson Lake facility keeps going the way it has been, he suspects there'll be even more money in next year's capital budget to complete the facility.

Hardy said it's obvious the Dawson City multi-level care facility has been put on hold to redirect funds to cover the cost overruns in Watson Lake.

Like Mitchell, Hardy cites the decision to sole-source a good portion of the early work in Watson Lake, along with a design-as-you-go approach to fast-track the project, as the reasons behind the ballooning budget.

The problems in Watson Lake, Hardy said, would have been avoided had the government used the standard public tender process.

'They need the $7 million but if they continue building it the way they are building it to date, I suspect we'll see some more money next year.'

The NDP leader noted that it's two years into the project, and there's not even a roof on the building yet.

Pat Living, the spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Services, said this morning completion of the Watson Lake facility is scheduled for about this time next year.