Health and Social Services Minister Peter Jenkins interfered with the awarding of the design contract and the actual design of the Dawson City multi-level health care facility, says Pat Duncan, the Liberal MLA for Porter Creek South.

Quoting documents received under the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act, Duncan told the legislature Wednesday: 'The minister interfered in the awarding of a design contract for the new facility. He personally ordered that it be awarded without competition.

'After the design was completed, the minister again made several changes to the design.

'The interference cost Yukon taxpayers money and it upset the people who work for the minister.'

In an e-mail sent on Feb. 16, 2004 by Cathy Morton-Bielz, director of continuing care in the Department of Health and Social Services, it is stated:

'Minister Jenkins met with department and (Whitehorse-based architect) Charles McLaren on Feb. 12 re: care facility projects in Dawson City and has requested the following: sole source contract to Charles McLaren.'

By June 16, 2004, Jenkins had met with McLaren and had directed there be several changes to McLaren's original design.

In an e-mail sent by McLaren to Jim Newnham, project manager for building development in the Department of Highways and Public Works, it was stated the changes included:

ï Increasing the size of each resident bedroom by about 35 per cent;

ï Providing garages for all staff vehicles and ambulances;

ï Creating a central waiting area for nurses, doctors, public health and dentistry;

ï Turning the doctor's offices into a more compact unit;

ï Relocating the mechanical boiler room;

ï Changing the entry location of the building;

ï Reducing the number of interior partitions;

ï Making the building a 'simple rectangular shape; and

ï 'Flipping' the location of the dining area and lounge.

'I am notifying you that although I will do these changes, some of them do not conform to good design practice,' McLaren stated in the e-mail.

'However, we have been given our marching orders,' so will proceed to make the changes, if you agree.'

Newnham responded to McLaren's e-mail on June 17, 2004, stating, 'I must admit that I am uncomfortable with the manner in which this program is unfolding.'

Three e-mails between Newnham and Morton-Bielz sent on June 16-17, 2004 refer to the work and the changes as being moved ahead under 'ministerial direction.'

'(Jenkins) drew me out a little floor plan sketch of what he wanted, and it wasn't illegal, it wasn't against the building code. I could make it work,' McLaren told the Star this morning.

'It didn't work as well as it could or as well as it should. It didn't fulfill the things seniors said they wanted. It will certainly be considerably more costly than the original program had started out.'

The changes added an additional $5,280 to the architectural contract.

The multi-level care facility in Dawson City currently has been reduced to a $1 line item in the 2005/06 supplementary budget. It originally had $5.2 million allocated for the project.

The original building design had been created after consultation with the community. The design focused on providing the facilities on a main level for the seniors, said McLaren.

'The minister redirected the efforts so they didn't correspond to what Dawson seniors or health care workers wanted,' he said.

The seniors favoured a design that would allow them to be autonomous from the hospital and still maintain some degree of independence, he said.

The original building plan was 'quite efficient,' he said, adding, 'The minister, for reasons known only to himself, decided that it should be a two-storey building with an elevator.

'A number of changes didn't conform to what people had said they wanted.'

Jenkins initially told the legislature he had only requested an increase in the size of the rooms.

However, under Duncan's continued questions, he revealed he had also requested a boost in the number of ambulance bays, changing the view from the dining room window and moving the boiler room away from sleeping areas.

'My involvement was to request that the facility be enlarged to encompass these types of undertakings. I believe they are very legitimate, bona fide requests,' he said.

'All these things are things that seniors said they didn't want,' McLaren said.

Jenkins is trying to fulfill 'his own ambitions' while ignoring the wishes of his constituents, he added.

'The client is the owner, they do have the money, the politicians should represent the constituents. Theoretically, he should know what they want,' McLaren said.

'I have to pretty much take him at his word that he's doing what he believes to be best.'

However, he added, if cabinet ministers sincerely feel projects are working for the good of Yukoners, it would be beneficial if the ministers sign their names to decisions more often.

'Why do they try to hide it by having people in their departments, staffers, eventually take the responsibility?' he asked.

'I don't think that's fair to a lot of the hard-working and fairly well-meaning bureaucrats, who are professionals in their field and are being given political direction that I don't think they believe in.'

Jenkins' interference doesn't stop at Dawson, added McLaren.

'Watson Lake (multi-level care facility) was just as bad. Watson Lake, was in many ways, worse,' he said. 'He dictated what it should look like.'

Said Duncan: 'The fact is, the ministerial interference exercised by the member opposite cost Yukon taxpayers money, time and good relationships with our professional public servants.'

The actions demonstrate the way the Yukon Party and Jenkins treat the public service, she told the Star today.

It's clear the public servants are uncomfortable with the minister's interference, she said, adding Jenkins shouldn't be focusing on 'micromanaging' his department. He should be focusing on policy and issues such as the doctor shortage, she said.

'Focus on your job,' advised Duncan.

Jenkins avoided reporters after yesterday's question period and did not return phone calls.

Yukon Party spokesperson Peter Carr said Jenkins was bringing forward concerns in his role as the MLA for Klondike.

The suggested changes were meant to try to avoid design concepts that could potentially cause problems in the future, said Carr.

The individuals mentioned in the e-mails and the Department of Health and Social Services did not return calls from the Star before press time this afternoon.