With a Confidence and Supply Agreement (CASA) in place, the NDP continued to hold some power over the governing Liberals as the new fall legislative sitting began this afternoon.

But in an interview with the Star last week, NDP Leader Kate White was still critical of Liberal policies on health care and the way the party has addressed problems at the Whitehorse Emergency Shelter. She noted that her party can’t necessarily force action on every issue.

She called this agreement, signed late last January, “not as movable as people think.”

White did say many NDP priorities overall have been addressed, and that obligations explicitly laid out in the CASA have been, and continue to be, fulfilled.

“It’s not always easy, but the gains that have come out of it for people, I’m really proud of,” White said. “Whether we talk about the dental programs, or an increase to the minimum wage or rent caps.”

As with every other party, White puts affordability at the top of her list of priorities.

“Right now, there’s not a single person in the territory who’s not feeling like the crunch of inflation or affordability,” she said.

Many of these issues are tied to housing, according to White, and problems with everything from attracting health care workers to the substance use crisis starts with people’s inability to find adequate housing.

Again, White agrees with the other parties that more housing is needed, though she says it needs to be a variety of sizes and types of housing to meet everyone’s needs.

She also contrasted her stance on protection for renters with the Yukon Party, which has criticized recently enacted rent caps and eviction protections.

“The Yukon Party can have their point; they think it should be a free market and it should just be let go,” White said.

“But under them, housing became less affordable; it became harder to get.”

On health care, she chastized the governing Liberals for their inability to attract health care workers and their inability to maintain a system where workers feel valued.

“The crumbling that we’ve seen in health care, especially in rural Yukon, is 100-per-cent the responsibility of the Liberal government,” White said. “And that’s because of the lack of respect they continue to show those employees.”

White also skewered the Liberal party for its handling of public safety complaints at the emergency shelter.

“Ultimately, the responsibility for everything that’s gone wrong there falls to the Liberals, it falls to the government,” White said.

She did concede the problems at the shelter pre-date the Liberal government.

The Yukon Party was in power when the shelter was built, and White says the site was poorly chosen. It’s on the lot of a former vehicle dealershp that is too small and lacks adequate outdoor space.

“The Whitehorse Emergency Shelter was built by the Yukon Party with no consultation with community and no consultation with the people who would use that shelter,” White said.

Since then, White noted, report after report have detailed a myriad of issues and have made recommendations such as the creation of a community safety officer program and a sobering centre in downtown Whitehorse.

“And we haven’t seen any of those actions,” she said.

Despite their differences, the NDP will continue to support the Liberals with the CASA, slated to expire in 2025 – at least for now.

“The CASA is not a free pass for the Liberals,” White said. “I re-evaluate on a regular basis.”