Spike in Saskatoon homeless encampments ‘heartbreaking,’ NDP says
CBC
Saskatchewan’s NDP Opposition wants immediate action from the government to alleviate a homelessness crisis that’s getting worse — particularly in the province’s largest city.
NDP deputy leader Vicki Mowat pointed Monday to numbers from the Saskatoon fire department that show the number of homeless encampments appears to be rising significantly.
The fire department counted 1,248 encampments through the first eight months of the year, which is just shy of the 1,255 counted in all of last year.
That means Saskatoon is on track to log triple the number of encampments this year when compared to the 512 counted by the fire department in 2022.
“You see encampments and it's heartbreaking to see people living this way,” Mowat told reporters Monday at a news conference.
“You know, we have a winter coming in Saskatchewan. It is a hostile climate. No one should have to live this way. Everyone should have a safe place to live.”
Fire crews cleared 357 encampments from Jan. 1 to Sept. 1, compared to 218 in all of last year, an increase that was first reported by CTV.
The City of Saskatoon defines an encampment as “any area where an individual or a group of people live unhoused together, often in tents or other temporary shelters.”
The fire department has assessed that all 65 neighbourhoods in Saskatoon are affected by encampments.
Mowat suggested three ways the government could help alleviate the crisis by addressing the housing crunch in the province.
She repeated the Opposition’s call for rent control legislation like other provinces have, including Ontario, British Columbia and Manitoba.
Mowat also urged the Saskatchewan Party government to restore the practice of permitting Saskatchewan Income Support payments to be made directly to landlords.
Mowat said people who spoke to her this summer about paying landlords directly said they fail to understand why the government made the decision to prohibit it. She said the NDP and others have been advocating against the decision for some time.
“They haven’t changed their mind yet and it’s a complete head-scratcher."
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