What is the future of addressing rising homelessness in Saskatoon?
CBC
After plans for a temporary shelter in Saskatoon's Sutherland neighbourhood were axed, there is also growing pushback against the existing emergency wellness centre in Fairhaven.
But community groups and a city councillor say there is a high need for shelters and adequate housing in Saskatoon.
About 1,000 people, most from the Fairhaven neighborhood, have signed an online petition seeking relocation of the emergency wellness centre there, citing concerns about safety and increased crime.
Robert Pearce, a local pastor who has said he intends to run for the Ward 3 council seat in this November's civic election, said since the centre opened in December 2022, crime and violence have increased in the area.
Pearce, whose Fairmont Baptist Church is just a few hundred metres from the wellness centre, previously wrote an open letter to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe and several government ministers outlining his concerns about the centre, including "property damage, vandalism and thefts … costing us thousands of dollars."
"We have like 106 beds. I have no doubt we have over 200 people that are homeless coming to our community hoping to get a bed because they don't know if they can get one or not," said Pearce, who has also signed the online petition.
"But if they don't get a bed, then what do they do? They're going to sleep in apartment lobbies. They're going to break in."
Pearce said he also helped mobilize support to shut down plans for the Sutherland shelter.
Council approved a motion last week stating that emergency shelters must be at least 250 metres away from elementary schools, which effectively shut down plans for a proposed shelter in the Sutherland neighbourhood.
Ward 3 Coun. David Kirton, whose ward includes the Fairhaven neighbourhood, opposed that motion along with Mayor Charlie Clark.
"That was a bad day for us as far as I'm concerned. I'm not a fan of the distance criteria," he said.
Kirton said there is no data available around the impacts of shelters on the neighbourhoods. He said shelters need to be distributed fairly.
Referring to the petition, Kirton said he is concerned about "the growing hatred toward the homeless."
"I've been calling for that particular shelter to be reduced in size for over a year now. So that's the first thing. We have to ask the second question. When they are wanting this shelter to be shut down, where would these people go?" he said.
While his party has made a cause célèbre out of its battle with the Speaker, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has periodically waxed poetic about the House of Commons — suggesting that its green upholstery is meant to symbolize the fields of the English countryside where commoners met centuries ago before the signing of the Magna Carta.