Liberals underspent on lot development, committee told

Community Services Minister Richard Mostyn has some explaining to do about the Liberal government’s record on developing lots, the Yukon Party says.

Officials from the Department of Finance confirmed during a public hearing of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts that “the Liberal government has left millions of dollars on the table, exposing the unreliability of the minister of Community Services’ claims that the Liberals were spending ‘record amounts’ on lot development,” the official Opposition said Monday.

Officials said the Department of Community Services had a budget of $118.8 million for the 2021-2022 fiscal year, but only $86.1 million of that was spent.

“The main shortfall was in lot development in both Whitehorse and the communities,” the YP said.

Officials said a total of $15.7 million went unspent, including $8.5 million in Whistle Bend alone, the party noted.

“We have repeatedly pointed out the Liberals’ delays in lot development and how it is contributing to the housing crisis,” said Yvonne Clarke, the YP’s housing and lot development critic.

“The minister has bragged he was making ‘record-breaking’ investments, but Finance officials have now confirmed millions of dollars have gone unspent.

“Yukoners and builders need these lots to build more homes to address our housing crisis.”

The Liberals had promised phase 6 and 7 of development in Whistle Bend to come online late in 2021 and throughout 2022 – but cancelled the Phase 7 contract in 2021.

“Phase 6B and Phase 7 went unfinished this summer, jeopardizing the minister’s promise of 200 lots this year,” the YP said.

In addition, those delays pushed back tendering of Phase 9 for this fall, as previously promised.

Data from the Yukon Bureau of Statistics released Dec. 5 “show that the continued mismanagement of lot development is seriously restricting Yukoners’ and developers’ opportunities to build more housing,” the YP said.

Compared to last year, the value of residential building permits issued in the Yukon from January to October dropped 27.2 per cent.

The Yukon Party has previously urged the government to identify parcels of land that can be developed by the private sector and provide financial support to municipalities to expedite required zoning and planning with the proper support.

On Wednesday, cabinet communications staff released this statement abut the Yukon Party’s concerns:

“The Yukon Party boasted about population growth for over a decade, but failed to take action to plan for the inevitable increase in demand for housing,” the statement said.

“Our Liberal government continues to make historic investments in lot development across the territory.

“Compared to the previous Yukon Party government, the Yukon Liberal government has tripled the investment in lot development in the Yukon and we continue to work with our partners across the territory to develop land and increase housing options for Yukoners.

“In the last year alone, municipalities across the territory have issued almost 1,300 permits for residential construction,” the statment added.

“We continue to advance Whistle Bend together with the City of Whitehorse as well as development projects across the territory with our municipal partners.”