Thursday’s $142-billion federal budget is receiving both praise and criticism from Yukon politicians.

In a news release, Yukon MP Brendan Hanley picked out 10 budget highlights for the territory:

• Providing $32.2 million to support the Atlin Hydro Expansion project in B.C.

• $10 billion to increase the number of housing units, make housing more affordable, and renovate and retrofit existing housing stock.

• $300 million over five years to co-develop and launch an Urban, Rural, and Northern Indigenous Housing Strategy.

• $565 million over five years to support housing in Self-Governing and Modern Treaty Holders.

• $26.2 million over four years to raise the maximum amount of forgivable Canada Student Loans by 50 per cent for doctors and nurses in rural and remote communities.

• $100 million over three years for the Substance Use and Addictions Program to support harm reduction, treatment, and prevention at the community level.

• Intending to make significant investments that would focus on priority critical mineral deposits, while working closely with affected Indigenous groups and through established regulatory processes.

• A new 30 per cent Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for specified mineral exploration expenses incurred in Canada and renounced to flow-through share investors.

• Cutting taxes for Canada’s growing small businesses.

• $29.6 million over three years to support the co-development of an Indigenous Climate Leadership Agenda to support self-determined action in addressing Indigenous people’s climate priorities.

• $4.8 million over two years to the Indigenous Tourism Association of Canada to support its operations, which continue to help the Indigenous tourism industry rebuild and recover from the pandemic.

“I am pleased to see crucial investments in housing, health, tourism, climate action, small businesses, Indigenous communities, and resource management for Yukon,” Hanley said.

“This budget reflects key priorities I have strongly advocated for in my short time as MP to date. This is a win for Yukoners and for the North.”

In an interview with the Star this morning, the MP said, “I think we did well.

“It’s a great budget for the Yukon and the North,” he said. “It’s definitely a housing budget, whereas last year’s was a pandemic budget.”

Hanley said he had avocated intensely for the government to kick in the money for the Atlin project behind the scenes. “I fought tooth and nail for it,” he said.

Premier Sandy Silver’s reaction was very similar to Hanley’s.

“We are pleased to see the federal government recognize the unique challenges facing the North in 2022 and the actions they are taking to address many of these concerns,” Silver said.

“The Government of Yukon’s 2022-23 budget includes $15 million for the Atlin Hydro Expansion Project, with a total commitment of $50 million over three years,” he said.

“We are very happy to see that the federal budget recognizes the importance of this initiative with an announcement of $32.2 million over two years, starting in 2022–23, from the expanded Low Carbon Economy Fund.”

In remarks very similar to Hanley’s, Silver added, “We are also encouraged to see the Government of Canada recognize our commitment to address housing availability and affordability in the territory.

“The $30 million for affordable housing and related infrastructure in the Yukon will allow us to work with the Government of Canada to take further action to increase housing options for Yukoners.

“Nationally, $565 million over five years will go towards supporting housing for self-governing First Nations across the country, including those in the Yukon, which will be critical in improving health and social outcomes and to ensuring healthy First Nations communities.

“This was discussed at the 2021 Yukon Days, and we are pleased to see that the Government of Canada acknowledges the importance of government-to-government relations with self-governing First Nations.”

The federal budget also acknowledges that vital mineral mining projects “are expensive, and come with a unique set of challenges that can often include remote locations, changing prices, and lengthy regulatory processes,” Silver added.

“The introduction of a new 30 per cent Critical Mineral Exploration Tax Credit for specified mineral exploration expenses incurred in Canada will contribute to the Yukon’s growing mineral industry while securing good jobs for Yukoners.”

The Yukon Party and leader Currie Dixon saw the budget quite differently, however.

“The Yukon was only mentioned 10 times, and two of those were simply re-announcing the child care agreement reached last year,” the party said in a statement.

“Canadians and Yukoners needed a federal budget that was serious about addressing defence and military capabilities in the North.

“In light of Russian aggression and their illegal invasion of Ukraine, it is clear that the Canadian government needs to take Arctic security more seriously. We hope the importance of a fully built-out Canadian Armed Forces base in the North, preferably in the Yukon, is acknowledged in the announced comprehensive review of Canada’s defence policy.”

The Yukon Party had also hoped to see “specific mention of security investments and supports for the North and, in particular, the Yukon.

“Further, it is disappointing that the plan announced by the Liberals still leaves Canada far short of its NATO commitment regarding defence spending totalling at least two per cent of GDP.”

The new money fails to make up for the $12 billion shifted out of the Defence department since 2015, it added.

“With Yukon facing a doctor and nursing shortage, I was pleased to see the federal government provide student loan forgiveness for health professionals in underserved rural or remote communities, including in the North.

“We hope this will attract new doctors and nurses to the Yukon. The success of this policy and its importance for the Yukon will be largely dependent on how the federal government defines communities.”

Even the funding for housing didn’t escape the official Opposition’s wrath.

“We were disappointed to see that out of the funding available to support northern housing, the Yukon was given short shrift. The Yukon gets half the amount of money that is going to the other two territories.

“This comes as Yukon reports the highest population growth rate in Canada, and is an unfortunate reminder that the territory needs a strong representative as MP who will actually advocate on our behalf.

“In conclusion, there is good and bad in this budget,” the party stated.

“The lack of a serious approach to support for the military and vague or underfunded supports for the Yukon once again shows that the federal government thinks of the territory as an afterthought.”

NDP Leader Kate White liked much of what she saw. In a news release, she said she is applauding the results obtained by federal counterpart Jagmeet Singh, thanks to their newly signed Confidence and Supply Agreement.

“The federal agreement contains similar priorities as the Yukon NDP’s own Confidence and Supply Agreement signed with the Yukon Liberal government: action on housing affordability, publicly funded dental care and pharmacare, and 10 days of paid sick leave.

“It’s great to see that the federal NDP was able to secure commitments to get results and programs that Canadians need. I’m excited to see the roll out of publicly funded dental care and huge investments in housing in (Thursday’s) budget as the result of Jagmeet Singh’s leadership,” White said.

She said the federal NDP negotiated important budget initiatives for the territory, including:

•$5.3 billion over five years for dental care rollout, starting with kids under 12 years of age in 2022;

•An additional $1.5 billion over two years to the Rapid Housing Initiative;

•The introduction of a Homebuyers Bill of Rights;

•$4.3 billion for Indigenous housing over seven years;

•Ten days’ paid sick leave for federally regulated workers, including workers in banking, transportation and telecommunications sectors;

•$209.8 million over five years to locate, document and memorialize burial sites at former residential schools; and

•An additional $32.2 million for the Atlin Hydro Expansion project.

“This budget shows how much more we can accomplish when we work together for the good of Yukoners and Canadians,” White said.

“I’m proud of the work done by (Singh) to achieve this historic budget, and I’m relieved for Canadians who will benefit from this agreement right away,” White said.