Former Liberal MLA campaigns for Yukon NDP, blasts former party for 'inaction' on addictions

The once-Liberal MLA for Mayo-Tatchun was back on the campaign trail this week — this time urging his constituents to vote against his former party and get behind the NDP instead.

It was just one month ago when Don Hutton, elected as a Liberal in 2016, walked away from that party's caucus to sit as an independent, citing the Liberals' "inaction" on dealing with increasing rates of drug and alcohol dependence in the communities he represents.

On Wednesday, Hutton stood alongside Yukon NDP Leader Kate White at her party's campaign office and reiterated his disenchantment with the Yukon Liberals.

"[The Liberals'] time in office has been a deep disappointment to me and my community, with their inaction on issues that our communities struggle with, in particular alcohol abuse and addictions," Hutton said.

Hutton is not running this time, but he's throwing his support behind Kate White's team.

"The NDP plan is comprehensive. [It] covers the full spectrum of prevention, harm reduction, and treatment," he said.

"I encourage you to vote for the Yukon NDP and make Kate White our next premier." 

'My constituents deserve better'

The NDP platform promises to develop a safer consumption program in Whitehorse — where people can use drugs in the presence of people trained to reverse the effects of overdose. 

The party also promises safer supply in the territory through the prescription of regulated substitutes for potentially toxic street drugs, along with the creation of a managed alcohol program.

"My constituents deserve better than this [Liberal] government has given them," said Hutton on Wednesday.

White says an NDP government would fund and build a new, land-based treatment centre, accessible to all Yukoners.

The Liberals and Yukon Party are also promising in their platforms to fund on-the-land treatment centres, in partnership with Yukon First Nations and the federal government.

The Yukon Party has also committed to expanding the availability of telehealth and virtual mental wellness and addictions services, and to review the rural mental health hubs model.

"The pandemic has clearly highlighted the need to focus on improving the supports to mental wellness and addictions," said Yukon Party Leader Currie Dixon, during the CBC leaders' debate on Wednesday.

"I think we need to see support for work to expand the services for addictions ... I think we need to have stronger linkages with community and cultural healing resources that allow for both pre-and post treatment," said Dixon.

'We need to act,' says Silver

Liberal Leader Sandy Silver said during Wednesday's debate that his party has done work over the last four and a half years to address addictions in the territory. 

He emphasized how his party's government created four new community mental wellness and substance use hubs to support communities, and also pointed to new promises in the Liberal platform.

"We are implementing both a safe supply program and also we are building a wet shelter to address this crisis and we need to act to address this very serious issue impacting so many Yukoners," Silver said.

White argues the Liberals haven't acted fast enough.

Yukon's coroner said in mid-March that five Yukoners had died from drug overdoses in 2021, and that there had been 37 opioid-related deaths in the Yukon since 2016. 

"I need to know what took the current government so long to take action on the issue of Yukoners dying preventable deaths from opioid overdoses. And why they waited until an election to announce this," said White.

"This is a crisis, it isn't a photo op."

Yukon's Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brendan Hanley said the territory's opioid crisis is getting worse, and in February recommended the territory look into safe supply.