Yukon adds youth wing to new addictions treatment centre

The Yukon government has announced it will spend between $16- and $18-million building a new addictions treatment centre in the territory.

Doug Graham, minister of health and social services, saidthe facilitywill include a wing for families and youth and could potentially include some type of mental health treatment.

"This is not to say we can't include mental health as part of the addictions program at that facility, because we haven't identified exactly what we're going to do," he said.

"We just knew that children and families were a priority for this government, so we've included that in the planning for the new Sarah Steele building."

Graham is responding tocalls from Yukon's child advocatefor a mental health and addictions treatment centre for youth.

Graham said the new building will be somewhere in the vicinity of the old Sarah Steele building, the existing addictions treatment centre.

He said the health department is also looking at partnering with the Salvation Army to provide longer-term residential treatment for adults.

Graham said the plans for the new treatment centre will go before cabinet within the next three weeks.