The new Minister of Health and Social Services is having a rough ride in her new portfolio so far.

Tracy McPhee was once again under heavy fire Wednesday afternoon over her government’s plans to introduce a so-called vaccine passport.

Beginning next Tuesday, Canadian citizens who have received two COVID-19 vaccinations will not have to self-isolate when entering the Yukon. There were few details about the planned border verification process during the government’s weekly COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday morning.

That afternoon, the situation was not helped by McPhee’s refusal to directly answer questions on the issue from the opposition.

For the second day, McPhee was grilled as to why the government had failed to consult  Diane McLeod-McKay, the information and privacy commissioner, on how the proposed limited access to private medical records to confirm COVID-19 vaccinations will work.

“I appreciate the question,” McPhee told the house.

“I had the opportunity to answer this (Tuesday). I also had an opportunity to speak to the media about this (Tuesday), but here we are again — I’m happy to reiterate what I said regarding the plans going forward,” McPhee said.

“Unfortunately, the Yukon Party takes a stance that I’m not really understanding. I’m wondering if the Yukon Party supports changes to self-isolation requirements or not,” the minister said.

“That’s not really clear. Complaints come with respect to there being no advance notice, but we have been very clear all along that, in the event that something is recommended by the chief medical officer of health — his recommendations are based on science — it then becomes government’s responsibility to consider those, to respond, and to implement them if they are satisfactory.

“The process going forward — the criticism often comes that they haven’t been told soon enough about things or, if they have been told soon enough about things, they have not been told enough details about them,” McPhee said.

“So, there is really no wining, Mr. Speaker. The truth is that we provide the information to Yukoners as soon as it becomes available, and we are mindful of protecting them at every stage of this process.”

Brad Cathers of the Yukon Party was quick to note that McPhee’s comments did not constitute an informative response to the question.

“The minister did not answer the questions (Tuesday), and if she is wondering what we are saying, we are reminding the minister that government has an obligation to respect people’s rights and the rule of law and to be forthcoming.

“May 25 is six days away, and the government’s announcement is still short on details,” Cathers pointed out.

“As we have already noted, the southern border is staffed by private contractors. Under this plan, private contractors will be asking Yukoners questions about private and confidential health information.

“How will the minister ensure that the privacy of Yukoners is protected, and what assurance does the minister have that what she is proposing is not against privacy legislation?”

McPhee opted not to provide a simple answer.

“Let us be clear — and what Yukoners deserve to know is that vaccines will need to be verified. That is not just here in the Yukon; it is across the country; it is across the world,” she said.

“With the success of the Yukon vaccines and the success of our opportunities here to keep COVID-19 at bay and to keep Yukoners safe, we are in the enviable position of being very early in that process to determine how that work is done.

“We are doing that work with our partners across the territory, across this government, and certainly across Canada and the world to determine how to best implement the opportunity to verify vaccines in the least intrusive way possible,” the minister said.

Cathers fired back with “the rule of law still matters. (Tuesday), privacy commissioners from across the country released a joint statement about proposals such as the one the Liberals are proposing.

“The statement says — and I quote: ‘… it is an encroachment on civil liberties that should be taken only after careful consideration.’

“It goes on to say this about vaccine passports and similar measures — and I quote: ‘… must be developed and implemented in compliance with applicable privacy laws. They should also incorporate privacy best practices in order to achieve the highest level of privacy protection…’

“It also specifically mentions the importance of consulting with privacy commissioners. Despite this, the minister did not consult with the privacy commissioner,” Cathers pointed out.

“Since she didn’t consult with the privacy commissioner, how can she assure Yukoners that this encroachment on civil liberties will incorporate the highest level of privacy protections as noted in the joint statement by privacy commissioners from across the country or that it is even legal?”

Responded McPhee: “Mr. Speaker, I almost don’t know how to go there, to be frank with you. I think that the allegation or the insinuation that somehow the Government of Yukon is acting against the legal interests required is in fact an insinuation, and it’s not clear information for Yukoners.

“Yukoners deserve clear information, Mr. Speaker, and they deserve facts that are based on science and a government that puts their safety ahead of everything,” McPhee said.

“I hope that it won’t surprise the members opposite that, as a former information and privacy commissioner, I completely agree with the statement that came out from the information and privacy commissioners across Canada today. It is excellent guidance.

“It is a great reminder that the privacy interests of Yukoners and Canadians must be paramount,” McPhee said.

“Again, we will be verifying vaccinations so that we can move forward as a country, but we will be doing so in the least intrusive way possible.”