Photo Courtesy: Yukon Government
Members of the territorial government and Yukon First Nations released a new substance use health emergency strategy
YUKON – The Yukon First Nations and territorial government are continuing to improve the substance use health emergency with the release of a new strategy.
A joint statement from the Government of Yukon, in partnership with First Nations governments, the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN), and in conversations with the Yukon Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), saw the launch of the Substance Use Health Emergency Strategy.
According to the Government of Yukon, this strategy is the next step in the territory’s support to address the Substance Health Emergency declared in January 2022.
The strategy will be implemented through a collaborative effort involving Yukon First Nations governments, communities, service providers, and other partner organizations. Regular updates, adjustments, and a transparent reporting procedure will keep the plan current and responsive to changing conditions and growing requirements.
Yukon NDP Leader Kate White says there are a lot of good things in this strategy but wants to see immediate change.
“Their planned approach is into the future and not just tomorrow, but like distantly into the future. If we’re talking about an emergency situation, I want to know what were what actions are happening today. That is going to prevent death. Because when we talk about the substance use emergency, we talked about wanting to prevent death. And so looking at this, I can see lots of plans for the distant future, but there’s a lot fewer of them for like the today and tomorrow.”
The Substance Use Health Emergency Strategy will be implemented with continuing stakeholder involvement, transparent annual progress reporting, and an adaptive strategy.
