'Very disturbing': STC chief blasts Saskatoon city councillor's shelter comments at SUMA
Coun. Robert Pearce asked premier to replace tribal council as shelter operator
Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand didn't hear the public comments a city councillor made about his emergency shelter, but it only took a moment before he heard about them.
On Wednesday, Saskatoon Ward 3 Coun. Robert Pearce spoke during a "bear pit" session at the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) annual convention and asked Premier Scott Moe if he would consider replacing STC as the operator of the Emergency Wellness Centre in the Fairhaven neighbourhood.
"When he stood up at SUMA, my phone blew up," Arcand said at a Thursday news conference.
"People were telling me what he just said and I was concerned. I wasn't there to defend our name, our reputation in front of strangers, other mayors, other councillors."
Pearce, first elected to city council last year, represents Fairhaven and made moving the STC shelter out of the neighbourhood his top campaign issue. STC operates the 106-bed shelter, which opened at the current location in 2022, under a service and funding agreement with the province.
Arcand said Pearce's comments are "very disturbing" when the city is dealing with a housing crisis and a rise in homelessness. Arcand questioned why Pearce is singling out an Indigenous-led shelter, while ignoring issues at other shelters in the city.
"If this is his own personal view then he should not be a city councillor in my view," Arcand said. "He needs to be working with all of us together to try to solve a crisis we have in Saskatoon and not to target STC anymore. This has to stop."
Pearce did not respond to messages requesting an interview about STC's response.
This is not the first time Pearce and Arcand clashed over STC's Emergency Wellness Centre. Pearce has blamed the shelter for a rise in crime and other disturbances in the neighbourhood. Arcand said crime rates have since returned to levels seen before the shelter opened.
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block called Arcand on Wednesday after the SUMA convention. Arcand said the mayor apologized for Pearce's comments. The mayor's office confirmed the two spoke, but did not provide details about the call's contents.
On Thursday, Block posted a Facebook message thanking people working with and supporting unhoused people in Saskatoon, and specifically mentioned STC.
"As a vital and trusted partner to the City of Saskatoon, STC continues to lead with compassion and strength, playing a pivotal role in addressing homelessness in our community," Block said in the social media post. "Their leadership and cultural wisdom are helping shape solutions rooted in dignity and inclusion."
The SUMA bear pit lets mayors and councillors from across the province put questions to the premier and cabinet ministers in a public forum. Pearce asked Moe two questions.
"Will this government honour their promise to reduce the beds in Fairhaven now that another shelter is in place, and will you work with the city in order to find replacement beds for those shelters?" Pearce said at the SUMA convention, referencing the opening of a new downtown shelter.
"And secondly, will you consider replacing the operator as more successful operators seem to be in place and seem to be enjoying much more success with the communities around them?"
Moe had a clear answer for Pearce.
"We're not looking at replacing the operator," Moe told delegates.
Moe also said there are no current plans to reduce the beds at the Fairhaven shelter, but suggested smaller shelters could be the standard model as the province opens up more facilities in Saskatoon and other communities.
STC and the Ministry of Social Services are negotiating a new funding agreement for the Fairhaven shelter that will run to the end of the 2025-26 winter season. Reducing the 106 beds is not currently part of the new agreement, Arcand said.
Earlier this year, Pearce toured Saskatoon streets at night with homeless advocate David Fineday. They met people who are unhoused, handed out hot drinks and offered rides to shelters.
"There's a very real situation. People are going to die," Pearce said at the time. "We keep talking about delays with budget and needing to do things quicker and better because people die regardless."
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