Premier Ranj Pillai says he is taking steps to address the situation at the Alpine Bakery, and acknowledges the government does bear some responsibility.

The bakery’s owners announced last week they will close the business – at least temporarily – this Saturday due to the continuing problems stemming from the nearby Whitehorse Emergency Shelter.

Pillai discussed the issue last Friday morning during a news conference focused on the fall legislative session, which will begin Wednesday afternoon.

“It’s been unfair to leave all the work to the Department of Health and Social Services on this,” he said.

“So I think that I have an obligation to work in concert with my minister (Tracy-Anne McPhee).

“There’s so many different elements to this. There’s an element around economic development, because the businesses that are there, there is Yukon Housing, because we do have units in that area. I think there’s a intergovernmental element.”

Pillai said he is “in dialogue with the City of Whitehorse all the time.”

He spoke with Mayor Laura Cabott last Thursday, as did Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn.

“And I just think that what we’ve been doing collectively is not working,” the premier conceded.

“And I think that’s when in government you have to stand up if there’s things you have to to change.”

Pillai said he’s taking some personal responsibility for the situation.

“I’m going to wear this and I want to be there at the table to make sure that we have everybody working as hard as we can to look at this challenge. We have really vulnerable people that need the right supports in our territory, but we also have to be respectful of those residents in the downtown area,” Pillai said.

He called the bakery a downtown institution, and the closure announcement disturbing.

“Seeing them announce that they’re going through a temporary closure is not appropriate; we need them there.”

Going into last Friday afternoon’s meeting with the bakery owners, the premier said, “I’m going to use all the tools that we have available to us to make sure that we can take this on and make the situation better.

“You know, we may have to look at a completely different way of how we deliver the services; that’s going to be part of the conversation.”

He acknowledged the problem is a longstanding one, preceding 2019, when the government took over the shelter, whose site had been chosen by a Yukon Party regime.

“You know, we came into government, and there was a building built there,” Pillai said.

“And we changed the service delivery, because there was a lot of problems. It’s about supporting our most vulnerable clients. And so I’m also going to be gathering the partners.”

He also wants to meet with representatives of shelter manager Connective this week.

“I want to talk about our relationship with them, and how they’re running that infrastructure. I want to put all the cards on the table and talk about how this has affected the downtown.

“I want to ensure, again, that the most vulnerable people in our community have the right support.

“But also, we need to be strategic in how we deliver services, and who’s at the table.”

Pillai also said he needs to reach out to the business community, members of which have been extremely critical of the ongoing situation.

“I think we have to restore confidence with the business community. We need the RCMP to be at the table with this,” the premier said

“I know that the minister’s meeting with the leadership from the RCMP, I believe (this) morning. And I think that if we all come together as a community, we can get this and we can get things going in a different direction.”

There are no current plans to replace Connective, formerly the John Howard Society, the premier indicated.

“We want Connective to be a partner with the government for a long period of time. They have a particular expertise that they bring to the table and I think they can do a good job. And so no; I’m not looking at a new subcontractor.”

This morning, Walter Streit, who co-owns the bakery with his wife, Silvia, posted an update on social media about the situation without directly referencing the meeting with Pillai.

“We are absolutely heartbroken by the tough decision we had to make to close down Alpine Bakery, hopefully only temporarily,” Streit wrote.

“To our staff: thank you for your hard work, your dedication and commitment to Alpine Bakery. Thank you for giving your best each and every day, the positive impact you had on us and our customers.

“To our customers: We have a small favour to ask. Our staff is what made Alpine Bakery possible. While all of them need to find new work, we would like to point out four of them who could use your help finding a job.”

He said in a later email to the Star that the meeting with Pillai was promising.

“(It was) not so bad; he promised a lot, and maybe the most interesting is that he seems to feel a lot of pressure.”