NDP Leader Kate White was celebrating her wins while regretting some political losses as the sitting ended Thursday.

Reporters met with White following the final question period and asked her what her party accomplished this sitting.

“This sitting, the Yukon NDP, we worked really hard at bringing people’s actual lived experiences forward,” she said.

White cited the new paid sick leave program as an example.

“There’s just a lot of holes in it. And it’s really unfortunate because the Make Work Safe committee came forward with really strong recommendations about what paid sick leave should look like.

“There was a motion that passed that was in support of a downtown elementary school; that’s really important. A lot of the questions that we bring forward and the issues we champion, sometimes it doesn’t equate to immediate change.

“But I think if we look back at what this budget is and the things that have been accomplished, a lot of really impressive things have come out of the Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA),” the NDP leader said.

“So there’s the increase in the child tax benefit. There’s an increase to social assistance rates, evictions without cause are now in, and that list goes on.

“So there’s lots of things I’m proud about.”

She was asked if she’s ready to admit her three-MLA party really does have power in the House.

“The truth of the matter is, it’s a working relationship, and there are commitments that I’ve made, and if I ever get to the point where I decide that I’m prepared to sever that relationship, it won’t be because someone has called me up on the phone with a suggestion of why I should do it.

“And so there is power in the position we’re in. Absolutely. But we do have obligations to that relationship. But is it pretty fantastic to look back at what I was told wasn’t possible two years ago to know that they’ve been achieved? It is. It really is.

“There’s always going to be more work that could be done, but I’m happy with what we accomplished.”

As for what she wasn’t able to achieve, White said, “I would have loved to have a vote yesterday on the asset cap that’s been put in place for seniors (in Yukon Housing Corp. accommodations). But I can’t control the debates.”

Asked what she was most proud about, White replied, “it’s been really incredible to see the effects of the dental program and what it means.

“I got a call from a clinic that let me know that it actually covered dentures, which I hadn’t realized. And so learning from people as they access that program particularly, and what it means for them, has been really incredible.”

As for what’s next, White said, “I’m looking forward to a summer of visiting communities and getting out and talking to people because that’s really where we get a lot of information or ideas from.”

She’s also looking forward to the select committee that will create the terms and reference for a planned citizens’ assembly to examine potential electoral reforms.

She will be appointing herself to that committee.

White was asked if the CASA makes it more difficult to hold the government accountable when she depends on the Liberals to implement her party’s agenda.

“It’s yes and no,” she replied. “I don’t think the government ever takes for granted that we agree because we often don’t agree.

“We have found issues of commonality and things that we can agree on that were included in the CASA.

“And there’ll be other things as work progresses where there is a lot of alignment with the Liberals, or there may be alignment with the

Yukon Party or those rare occasions when the three of us come together in agreement,” White said.

“The reason we’re not in a coalition is that we can speak against government programs or things that we don’t want, and we do.”

White had an interesting answer regarding how the two parties differentiate when it was suggested that since they voted in favour of the Liberal budget, it could be said they voted to give money to the RCMP for substance use emergencies.

“Oh, they could say that, but it would be, I suggest, at their own peril. Because I’m not muzzled by what the Liberals tell me that I should or shouldn’t say, and so if they’re going to put words in my mouth, I would suggest that is a risk they’re going to take.”

White admitted there were some low points for her party over the past two months.

“I’m really frustrated with the Department of Education, and I’m really frustrated because when I shared real-life stories of victims of sexual assault, I got told by the minister (Jeanie McLean) that I was shaming victims, and that is totally unacceptable.

“And it’s also really unacceptable because I was sharing the stories that I was asked to share by the people who were affected by them.

“And by her insinuation that I was bringing shame is that she told them that they should be ashamed of what had happened to them, and I disagree.

“I believe that there needs to be policies within the Department of Education that deal specifically with student-on-student violence.

“And sexualized violence being a key one. And I was disappointed that there wasn’t just a solid, firm yes from the minister that they would work on those kinds of programs.”

White also had questions about Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee’s claims regarding a safe supply of drugs in the territory.

The recent losses due to substance abuse use has also hit her hard.

“As a territory, we’ve just had so much loss in the last few months that it’s crippling for people,” White said.

“It’s really hard because you want to fix the problem, but the problem isn’t one that is easy to fix.”