The Yukon government continues to look back on the pandemic response in the territory, and is already making changes based on the lessons learned.

“We need to learn from this effort,” Justin Ferbey, the Executive Council Office deputy minister, said Tuesday.

A report from the Office of the Auditor General of Canada, released this past summer, detailed what the territory did well, and what it needs to do better next time.

Deputy Auditor General Andrew Hayes came to Whitehorse in June to present the report.

He was back in Whitehorse on Tuesday, this time to allow MLAs on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts to question him and Yukon government officials about the progress in addressing recommendations from the audit.

Along with Ferbey, Department of Health and Social Services deputy minister Tiffany Boyd and Community Services deputy minister Matt King highlighted much of the work already done.

Boyd reported that all of the recommendations were accepted and will be addressed within 12 to 24 months. She said they are “making progress on each of them.”

The audit gave an up-and-down assessment of the Yukon’s vaccine response.

High marks were given for the general speed of the rollout and the quick vaccinations for vulnerable populations.

Poor grades were assessed for emergency planning, First Nations engagement efforts and for the storage and tracking of vaccine doses.

Lack of meaningful engagement with First Nations was a major issue identified by the audit, and one of particular importance in the Yukon.

“Engaging with First Nations should not merely be a box to be ticked on a list of required actions,” Hayes told the committee.

“It is a commitment that must be acted on to address and break down barriers, improve sensitivity and inclusion, and rebuild trust.”

Defending the effort to involve First Nations in the vaccine rollout, King said they held calls between the Yukon government and local or First Nations officials at first on a daily, then weekly, then on an as-needed basis as the pandemic progressed.

“These calls connected to the chief medical officer of health with leadership and communities — chiefs, mayors, senior officials with First Nation governments and municipal governments,” King said.

On emergency planning, Hayes said it is easy to let these things slip during normal operations. He also said this is not unique to the Yukon.

“It’s easy to put these plans on the backburner when there are other things pressing the operations of the department,” he said.

King said work is being done on the municipal and territorial levels, as well as the departmental level, to update emergency planning, all with the support of the Emergency Measures Organization.

He also said they are involving First Nations governments in this process.

“Every First Nation government has been engaged with the Yukon Emergency Measures Organization in one way or another,” he said.

Storage of vaccines stocks and the minimizing of wastage was another struggle in many jurisdictions, not just the Yukon.

All three territories also had unique challenges to deal with due to the distance needed for vaccines to reach people.

“Logistical planning for distributing the vaccine was a massive undertaking, especially with the impacts of winter weather and short daylight hours for flying in and out of some communities,” Boyd said.

This was a particular challenge as some types of vaccines needed to be stored at super-low temperatures and couldn’t be jostled around during transport.

“Many times, nurses, who were aware of the limited and precious supply of vaccine allocated to the Yukon, were protecting the supply of vaccine by physically holding them on their laps during transport,” Boyd said.

Though Boyd focused on all the good work done to protect vaccine supplies, the audit had noted there was a lack of an effective way to manage and inventory stocks
of vaccines.

This meant the government could not accurately say how many vaccine doses were in the territory at a given time.

Still, Hayes credited the Yukon with generally doing a decent job of making sure shots got into arms.

“Overall, wastage is expected,” he said. “The Yukon government did reasonably well, in terms of managing it.”

Boyd reported that her department has already created a functional inventory management system for vaccines, making this the first of the audit’s recommendations to have a fully implemented fix.

Despite these issues, vaccines were rolled out in a speedy and effective way in the territory, according to Hayes.

This contributed to vaccine uptake in the Yukon that was slightly higher than in Canada overall.

“The vaccine rollout was broadly supported at all levels within the territory,” Boyd said.

“Many community leaders, elected officials, elders, and others stepped forward as champions of the vaccine, which was very helpful.”

Boyd made a point to thank all of the people involved in making this possible. She advocated to figure out how to better recognize these workers for the long hours and personal sacrifice they endured.

“This was no small undertaking, and the way staff mobilized to respond to these challenges was absolutely remarkable,” Boyd said.

“The dedication and commitment was palpable.”