Yukon NDP prevents evictions during COVID-19 pandemic

March 19, 2020

Whitehorse, YT — Yukon NDP Leader Kate White has obtained a commitment from the Yukon Liberals to take measures to safeguard against evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In recent days, hundreds of Yukoners have lost their income and didn’t know how they were going to pay rent in a couple weeks. I made it very clear to the Premier that I was not willing to leave the work of the Legislative Assembly without a firm commitment that no one would lose their home as a result of this pandemic,” White said Thursday, March 19.

“I know this will be a huge relief for hundreds of Yukoners facing uncertain times. I’m proud to know that we were able to bring those concerns to our work and get the guarantee that folks need that they won’t lose their housing due to no fault of their own.”

This comes a day after Leilani Farah, the UN Special Rapporteur on housing, emphasized the critical nature of secure housing in the context of a pandemic by stating that “housing has become the front line of defence against the coronavirus. Home has rarely been more of a life or death situation.”

In response to the Liberals’ commitment, the Yukon NDP indicated they would let the budget go to a vote at the end of today’s sitting of the Legislative Assembly.

“Voting on a $1.6 billion budget with so little oversight when it doesn’t even mention COVID-19 is problematic, but knowing that to flatten the pandemic curve we all have a role to play and I’ll continue the work that needs to be done from home,” White stressed.

“I want Yukoners to know that whether the Legislative Assembly is sitting or not, we stand beside them. This unparalleled situation requires that government support Yukoners in all ways possible, including making sure that they don’t lose their housing due to anything Covid-19 related.”

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