It was standing-room only at the Yukon Inn Thursday evening for the final debate for Monday’s territorial election.

Roughly 150 people showed up to ask questions of the four party leaders: the Yukon Party’s Darrell Pasloski, NDP Leader Liz Hanson, Liberal Leader Sandy Silver, and Frank de Jong, the interim leader of the Green Party.

The format of the CBC-hosted event included rapid-fire rounds. Moderator Dave White reminded people to keep questions under 30 seconds, and candidates to keep their responses to a minute in length.

Questions came from Yukoners in the audience, and those listening at home (the event was broadcast on the radio and live-streamed online).

They ranged from the specific (funding for the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter and to the number of beds in the Whistle Bend extended care facility), to the social (addressing issues of homelessness and a living wage), to the abstract (what does the word “respect” mean to you and how have you shown it?).

Here are a few of the key issues discussed last night.

Health care

Hanson said health care can be tough for those in rural communities.

She noted pregnancy is often treated as an acute care situation because of the trouble associated with travelling to Whitehorse for birth. She said the territory needs to develop care when and where it’s needed. In the case of pregnancy, she said this includes funding midwifery.

Silver agreed with this, saying a Liberal government would look to support prenatal care including assisting with accommodations in Whitehorse in advance of birth. He also said a Liberal government would support in vitro fertilization for couples who want it.

de Jong pointed out that, where he lives, in Faro, people are subsidized when they need to drive into Whitehorse, and when they need accommodations in the city. He said he’d like to see bus service to get to and from the communities.

Pasloski said he’s proud of the growing population in the north, and noted his party has talked about supporting widwifery by way of a publicly-funded model.

Homelessness

“Housing is a human right,” Silver said.

He referenced his party’s housing action plan, which was arrived at with the input of 50 partners. Silver said it’s important to use the plan to move forward in addressing the issue of homelessness in the territory.

Between the Yukon’s small population and great service providers, he said the Yukon should be able to do better.

de Jong agreed.

“As soon as you have a safe place to live, then you start eating better, then you sleep better, you stay on your meds.

“You have a phone, you can look for jobs, you can get your life back together again,” he said, noting a person only needs a little bit of help to stay housed. The rest will hopefully grow from that.

Pasloski pointed to some of his party’s recent initiatives, including the new Salvation Army building on Fourth Avenue, something he said he was talking about five years ago, when no one else was.

Hanson said that, before the 2011 election, there were roughly a dozen studies done into homelessness in the territory, and more have been conducted since.

She said the NDP would work with First Nations, landlords, NGOs and more to address the issue.

Living wage gap

Pasloski said one of the ways the Yukon Party is focused on growing the economy is via the $100-million investment announced for retrofitting buildings.

He brought the question back to the issue of carbon tax, saying it’s something “that will take a tremendous amount of money out of everybody’s pocket.”

Hanson noted the $8 discrepancy between minimum wage in the territory, and the living wage in the territory, and how difficult that makes it for Yukoners.

“Minimum wage earners are not just high school kids,” she said. “Sixty per cent of those earning under $15 an hour are 25 or over. Thirty-five per cent are 40 or over.”

She said the NDP would raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour.

Silver ticked off a list of items including affordable housing, reducing business taxes for corporate and small business, and promoting skills training. He said the Liberals would talk to the business community and NGOs to arrive at a solution.

de Jong said there needs to be a raised taxable exemption for the working poor, so they don’t have to start paying taxes as soon as they start earning. He also brought up the role of education.

“It used to be that a high school diploma would get you a good job. Now it takes post-secondary,” he said.

“So, a high school diploma’s always been without tuition and so we should also get rid of tuition at the college-level for starters.”

Carbon tax

There will be carbon pricing, Silver said, regardless of which party is voted in.

“Make sure you vote for one that has a plan when it comes to your money.”

He then said the Liberals are prepared to support the tax, but with a “northern consideration” that gives 100 per cent of the tax back to Yukoners.

By doing so, he said, the Yukon can keep pace with the rest of the world in a way that doesn’t negatively affect Yukon families.

“Taxes work,” said de Jong. “They send feedback loops to individuals and to businesses. And people can plan for the future if they know where the tax structure is going.”

He also pointed to options including off-grid living, electric cars, and wood-fired heating.

Pasloski stuck to his party’s position that it would continue to fight the carbon tax. He said the Yukon needs what it needs in terms of goods, and he has heard from businesses that the negative impact of the tax will be passed on to consumers.

“All these products come thousands of kilometres in a truck. We’re not going to reduce emissions because we can’t change our behaviour,” Pasloski argued, garnering a few groans from the audience.

Hanson said the NDP supports the tax, not because the federal government has said the country has to, but because Yukoners have a responsibility to the next generation.

She said her party plans to consult with business and First Nations to come up with a model that works for the North.

Whistle Bend

Hanson said Whistle Bend shouldn’t grow beyond 150 beds, and in fact, said 100 to 110 beds would be optimal.

She said one of the questions in rural communities is always, “Are you going to make us go to Whitehorse to die?”

Silver agreed he doesn’t want to be apologizing in 10 years because 300 beds located in Whitehorse have removed elders from their communities.

He said elders are vital to those communities and there needs to be a way to keep them there.

de Jong agreed there’s a need for this kind of care, but said Whistle Bend seems more like warehousing than sound urban design.

Pasloski didn’t address the question of expansion. He did say there’s an urgent need for the facility at the moment, as acute care beds in the hospital are being occupied by people who need long-term care.

First Nations relations

“We need to turn a page is the short answer to that question,” said Silver.

He reiterated the Liberal party platform promise to meet with Yukon chiefs within 30 days of forming government, and to hold regular meetings, and support First Nations government in bilateral agreements with federal government.

de Jong said he thinks the relationship between First Nations and the government has been “acrimonious” in recent years, and highlighted the Kaska Nation in his region, which doesn’t have self-government yet.

“Every passing day is a day lost in the lives of these people,” he said.

Pasloski said he could go on about partnerships, then named a few, including Supporting our Voices and Single Track to Success.

Hanson said there needs to be a mutual respect and co-management of the land and resources. She said every aspect of the NDP governance and policy focuses on reconciliation.