The opposition parties are taking the Yukon government to task over the 2022 Report of the Auditor General of Canada on Yukon Housing.

The NDP was quick to slam the government on the issue even before ministers and officials held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to address the findings of the report.

“The report confirms what Yukoners have been experiencing for over a decade,” the NDP said in a statement.

“That when it comes to housing, successive Yukon Party and Liberal governments have failed to take the required actions and fix a broken system.

“The audit blasted the Yukon Housing Corporation and Department of Health and Social Services for its frequent use of plans, strategies, and committees and its almost complete inability to put any of them into operation.

“Many issues identified in the auditors’ 2010 report remain unaddressed and unchanged,” the party said in the statement.

Party leader Kate White said “this just confirms what the Yukon NDP have been highlighting for over a decade.

“Both Liberal and Yukon Party governments have spent millions on short-term hotel stays without ensuring that they provide adequate and secure housing. There is not enough support for people once they have been housed, and the government’s solution to all of it, is more committees,” White said.

Emily Tredger, the NDP’s housing critic, added, “This report has cemented everything I’ve heard from Yukoners in the last year as housing critic.

“The approach of this government to housing remains deeply inadequate to the challenge of providing access to quality, dignified housing to all Yukoners.”

The party said, “For years the Yukon NDP has been calling on the Yukon government to review its use of hotels as accommodation for low-income Yukoners.

“The auditors’ report echoes this call. The Liberal government has often hidden behind working groups and committees while limiting their ability to provide recommendations or drive change.

“This report confirms that their approach has not worked, and a new direction is needed.”

“The Auditor General in the report has once again highlighted how rural communities are still not having their housing needs met,” added Annie Blake, the NDP MLA for Vuntut Gwitchin.

“It is clear when we see only five out of 18 community needs assessments completed in the last three years. This government needs to listen to communities and start addressing their unique needs.”

The Yukon Party was also blunt with its criticisms.

Yvonne Clarke, the party’s housing critic, said, “We are disappointed to hear from the Auditor General that this Liberal government has not followed through on items identified in previous reports, including the 2015-2025 Housing Action Plan.

“Their inaction is making the housing crisis worse,” Clarke said.

“The OAG report confirmed the Liberals have not kept up with social housing demands, as the wait list increased by 320 per cent between 2015 and 2021, growing at a faster rate than the Yukon’s population.”

Clarke added, “It is also deeply concerning the OAG found that from 2014 to 2021, the government did not provide adequate and affordable housing for Yukoners in greatest need, such as those who are homeless.

“During that time, the wait times for housing increased from a year to 17 months, and priority groups remained on the wait list for housing almost twice as long as non-priority groups.”

She added, “We hope action is taken to address an aging social housing stock as identified in the report.

“The OAG report highlights the Liberals have failed to operate as ‘one government’. The report highlights that the corporation and the department have not worked together or with housing partners, even under the control of the same minister (Pauline Frost) from 2016 to 2021.

“Ultimately, the premier holds responsibility for overburdening the same minister with the Housing and Health and Social Services portfolios,” she added in reference to Frost, who was defeated in the April 2021 election.

Clarke continued to criticize the government.

“While the Liberals have accepted all of the OAG’s recommendations, their track record is not promising,” she said.

“The OAG report found the Liberals have made little progress on the delivery of housing as recommended in the Putting People First report.”