A formal complaint would have to be made before the Yukon government would investigate the matter of a 15-year-old boy who went missing from the Mary Lake group home, Health and Social Services Minister Brad Cathers said Monday.

During question period in the legislature yesterday, Mount Lorne NDP MLA Steve Cardiff told the house of a 15-year-old boy who was found by a constituent hiding in bushes on her property.

The boy told the resident he'd been in the group home for a month, hadn't been to school since then and was afraid to go back to the home because he said he was being 'mistreated,' Cardiff said.

With the temperature below freezing and the boy's lips turning blue, the constituent offered her phone so he could call his parents or a social worker.

Since he was afraid to do either, the resident eventually convinced him to phone 911. He was advised to walk back to the group home.

No follow-up to the call was done.

Cathers, who said he was unaware of the incident, told Cardiff if a complaint was filed, the department would follow up on it.

'It is a very serious matter if such claims are made,' Cathers said.

'However, claims like this I would certainly hope these claims are not being made lightly, because it is a very serious accusation. If, indeed, there is any cause in these areas, we will respond to a formal complaint through the appropriate substantive processes and look into the claims outlined in that formal complaint.'

Following question period, Cardiff told reporters the situation raises a number of issues.

'Why wasn't a 911 call responded to in some fashion by someone in authority?' he asked.

When an emergency call is made, some response is expected. If there continues to be no responses, he said, why would young people make emergency calls in the future?

His constituent didn't know how long the boy had been there, but it was long enough that he was shivering, Cardiff said.

The youth also didn't seem to specify how he was being mistreated.

'How long does this kid have to be missing before there's a response?' Cardiff questioned.

'Is it an hour, is it two hours, if he doesn't come home that night? At what point do they kick in and they start looking for him?'

While the non-response to the 911 call is the biggest issue for the MLA, he also noted there needs to be a communications strategy between the neighbourhood and the department about the group home.

The communications strategy could help inform the community about the needs of the children staying there and how the youth can become part of the community, Cardiff said.

'I think that's where it needs to go,' he said.