An NDP MLA says it’s “unbelievable” the Yukon government says it can’t act immediately to halt evictions without cause.

That comment came in response to a statement made by Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn on Dec. 2 as the fall legislative sitting limped to a halt.

Emily Tredger told reporters after question period that she nearly couldn’t believe it when Mostyn presented a response to a petition calling on a moratorium to be placed on evictions without cause.

It’s no different than the one the government brought in last winter amidst the state of emergency to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, Tredger said.

In the legislature, Mostyn said, “I realize that our rental housing market is challenging right now. Our economy is growing, and with new people coming into the territory, finding housing is challenging.

“It is heart-rending to hear that some people are losing their homes through no fault of their own.”

After last April’s election, he noted, the Liberals entered into the 2021 Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) with the NDP.

Under the pact, the government agreed to cap residential rent increases to the annual inflation rate effective last May 15 and continuing through the term of the agreement, until Jan. 31, 2023.

“In the face of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the tight housing market, we agreed to an interim residential rent cap to provide immediate support to renters,” Mostyn said.

“The rent cap allows renters to plan for the future, knowing that their rent will not be increasing each year.

“Stable, affordable housing is foundational to the health and well-being of all Yukoners. Rental security is also a complex issue that requires a deft, thoughtful, and well-considered approach.”

Mostyn continued with a somewhat lengthy address of the issues.

“Landlords currently have the ability to evict without cause,” he acknowledged.

“In fact, we cannot temporarily end without-cause evictions. To make this change requires an amendment to the Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Because the right to end tenancies without cause is in the act, we cannot repeal it by regulation.

“Changing legislation is a lengthy process,” Mostyn added. “It is not something that is done overnight.”

When both parties signed the CASA agreement in good faith, the minister added, “we acknowledged that the rent index is an interim measure to provide immediate support to renters.

“We anticipated and flagged challenges with this policy, and we now know the rent cap had significant negative impacts on the rental market — and we are hearing about it every day.

“Not only has it caused some evictions — which, as I said earlier, are heart-rending — but it has also undermined the financial applications for some apartment block sales.”

Tredger said she and her NDP colleagues have been working diligently behind the scenes on the topic. However, after what Mostyn had to say, it was clear to her that strategy isn’t working.

She said she and her colleagues will mount a public campaign to put more pressure on the government.

Party leader Kate White was more to the point.

“We’re going to make the government do this, or we will do it,” she told reporters, without specifying how that would be accomplished.