Saskatoon Tribal Council calls on province to open warm-up shelter instead of new 30-bed facility
STC Chief Mark Arcand says he is concerned about a cut to his shelter when 2 planned 30-bed facilities open
The Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) is calling on the province and the City of Saskatoon to open a warm-up shelter instead of a planned enhanced emergency shelter, which STC says could bring a cut to its Fairhaven shelter.
The province plans to open two new shelter facilities, one in Saskatoon and one in Regina, with about 30 beds each. A former Saskatchewan Transportation Company building located at 210 Pacific Avenue has been identified as a potential temporary site to accommodate 30 to 40 beds, offering essential amenities like showers, bathrooms and kitchen facilities, the city said in a news release late Friday afternoon.
The city-owned property will undergo renovations, but STC Chief Mark Arcand said the facility would not be adequate or effective due to rising homelessness in the city.
Last year, the Salvation Army ran a warming centre at St. Mary's Church Hall, located at 211 Avenue O S. The facility was seeing an average of 140 to 200 people through the winter.
Since the federal funding no longer exists, there are no warming shelters planned for Saskatoon this year.
"Proposing two 30-bed shelters, I think we need to put those on hold and really focus on warm-up shelters, because it's only going to help 30 or 40 people. Where are the other 150 people supposed to go?" Arcand told reporters on Wednesday morning.
Arcand said the province has indicated its two planned 30-bed facilities will cost $1.2 million per year. He said that funding could be redirected to warm-up shelters to help more people.
"Nobody talks to the service providers and that's the problem. We have too many bureaucrats from the City of Saskatoon administration making decisions without ever being in the, in the trenches I'll say, of working in homelessness. They don't have a clue."
The Saskatoon enhanced emergency shelter, which was initially proposed in the Sutherland neighbourhood, will be operated by Calgary-based Mustard Seed.
The City of Saskatoon said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that it plays no role in operations or funding of shelters.
"In terms of plans for an overnight warming location — part of its responsibility under the Extreme Cold Weather Emergency Response Plan — the City is in the final stages of working with community partners to have a solution available this winter," the statement said.
Year-round basic shelter needed
Gordon Taylor, the executive director at Salvation Army in Saskatoon, said his organization didn't expect the amount of people who used services at the warm-up location last winter.
"One of the gaps we've identified in Saskatoon is the need for some sort of basic shelter. The shelter that STC runs, the shelter Salvation Army runs, this new shelter that's been announced that the Mustard Seed will be running, we're all what are called enhanced shelters," he said.
"There's no basic shelter in town that [covers] the need every winter for a winter warm-up location like we ran at Saint Mary's last year.… One of the big needs I believe in community is the need for a basic shelter year round."
In the interim, Taylor said Salvation Army is in conversations with the city for a warm-up location this year, as homelessness has only risen.
Gene Makowsky, the minister of social services, said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that his ministry is working with the city to develop a warm-up location to serve the community during the coming winter months.
'I have no faith in Mustard Seed': Arcand
Arcand said he is not in favour of Mustard Seed coming into Saskatoon.
"They have to understand the First Nations way, which Saskatoon does. It's about reconciliation, it's about working together, it's about Indigenous people serving Indigenous people," he said.
"I have no faith in Mustard Seed, and I'll say it again, because they don't know nothing about First Nations people."
Arcand said "they have zero clue" to the needs of Saskatoon homeless people, most of whom are Indigenous.
"They need to know who they're dealing with. This is our territory, this is how we work together. And if they're not willing to reach out, I have a problem with them."
Arcand said STC is better equipped to operate the 30-bed facility, having housed 50 families and providing care to people at their Emergency Wellness Centre (EWC) in Fairhaven.
CBC has reached out to Mustard Seed for comment.
Potential cut to EWC
Arcand said he is also concerned about a potential cut to EWC when the two 30-bed facilities open up.
"My agreement, I get cut when these beds open. The Salvation Army doesn't get cut, but we're doing the same work. There's a discrepancy here. And I look at the province and I say, where's the fairness? Where's the accountability? Where's the transparency?"
The potential cut, Arcand said, means a loss of $100 to $110 per person per night, and would impact the scope of STC's services.
New shelter coming this winter: minister
Social Services Minister Makowsky said in his statement that, if a location is approved by Saskatoon city council, the new temporary enhanced emergency shelter is expected to open this winter with 30 to 40 spaces.
"Our government has committed $250,000 for renovations to the space and will provide operating funding to the service provider, The Mustard Seed. The Government of Saskatchewan chose Mustard Seed as the successful proponent to deliver up to 60 enhanced emergency shelter spaces in Saskatoon through a public Request for Proposals process as part of the Provincial Approach to Homelessness," the statement said.
The government said it will be moving to a "model of smaller shelters going forward."
"Aligned with that principle, the Ministry of Social Services plans to decrease spaces at the Saskatoon Tribal Council Wellness Centre in the future," the statement said.
"The timing of the decreased spaces at the Saskatoon Tribal Council Wellness Centre will be determined after new temporary spaces become available in Saskatoon, and their impact is assessed."
The ministry said it will continue to monitor the situation to ensure there are enough spaces available for people experiencing homelessness in Saskatoon over the winter, which may mean that spaces at the STC Wellness Centre are maintained during the winter months.
Arcand said the province will give him a 90-day notice to let him know that "they're just taking from Peter to pay Paul".
"That means I'll go down to 65 beds. So, whatever that number is — 30, 41 beds. So does that mean my funding is going to say status quo? No, because I'm going to lose that $110 per person per night. That's going to affect everything," he said.
"It feels like I'm being picked on, but they always say I'm a valued partner. It doesn't make sense to us."
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