'Very disturbing': STC chief blasts Saskatoon city councillor's shelter comments at SUMA
CBC
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.
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