Minister responsible for the French Language Services Directorate John Streicker has issued the following statement:

“Our government is dedicated to increasing access to French-language services and information. Today we launched a public engagement to inform our next strategic framework for French-language services, which will help prioritize our actions for the next two years. It will build on the successes of the previous framework and guide our investments to best serve the growing Yukon Francophone community.

The Yukon government will be providing funding to Queer Yukon Society to create a new health care navigator position that will help 2SLGBTQIA+ Yukoners access safe, equitable and timely health care services.

The Government of Yukon is offering a threshold hunt for Nelchina caribou that opens on December 1, 2022, in Game Management Subzones 5-04, 5-05 and a portion of 5-06.

The hunt will close on March 31, 2023, or when the threshold limit of 25 caribou is met – whichever happens first. If the Chisana caribou herd enters the Nelchina threshold hunt subzones, the hunt will be closed to conserve and protect the Chisana caribou herd. Caribou herd locations are monitored through GPS collars which transmit data in real-time to biologists.   

The Government of Yukon hosted Youth Roots: A Substance Use Prevention Gathering to discuss and promote approaches to prevent youth substance use by emphasizing long-term, upstream solutions.

The two-day educational forum occurred in person and virtually November 16 and 17 at the Kwanlin Dün Cultural Centre in Whitehorse. It welcomed subject matter experts and health promotion practitioners, educators, researchers and community members from across the territory working in substance use prevention.

An exhibition featuring the 16 new works added to the Yukon Permanent Art Collection opened today in the main foyer of the Jim Smith Building in Whitehorse.

Entitled Dis Orientation, the show explores the points of connection between artist, artwork, and viewer and features a wide range of media including stained glass, illustration, carving, painting, textile and digital collage. The artists featured are Claire Falkenberg, Jared Kane, Annie Kierans, Rebecca Manias, Calvin Morberg, Cole Pauls, Krystle Silverfox and Amy Tessaro.

The Clean Energy Act, which legislates the Yukon’s targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and ensures long-term climate change accountability, received assent today.

The new Animal Protection and Control Act received assent today.

The new Act will provide a comprehensive, enforceable legal framework for managing all aspects of animal protection and control in the Yukon and establishes higher standards of care than what previously existed. The Act includes permits and inspections of animal-related businesses, expands enforcement tools to address high-risk and feral animals and empowers local officers to take action.

The Yukon is participating in a national test of the AlertReady system this week. A test alert will be sent to radio, TV and cell phones on Wednesday, November 16, at approximately 1:55 pm.

The message will clearly state that it is a test. These types of alerts are designed to deliver critical and potentially life-saving information about emergencies including floods, landslides, wildfires and Amber Alerts.

This news release was updated on December 13, 2022 to reflect that the intake closing date was changed from January 13, 2023 to February 3, 2023. 

The sixth intake of the Housing Initiatives Fund launched today to support the construction of affordable housing for Yukoners across the territory.

This call for projects includes three streams: