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Saskatoon tribal chief says Sask. government needs to be held accountable for 'underfunding' shelters
CBC
An Indigenous leader says no one is standing up to the Saskatchewan government to say emergency shelters are underfunded.
The City of Saskatoon is proposing putting a temporary enhanced emergency shelter of 30 to 40 beds downtown in an old Saskatchewan Transportation Company building.
Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand doesn't like the location — or that the money isn't going to a warm-up shelter.
"So when I look at that funding, it's not making a difference in anybody's lives right now," he said. "So we asked them to redirect that funding and help more people. I think that's the best way to do this."
He said that if the shelter goes ahead, it and the city's other shelters will be underfunded.
He noted the planned operator of the proposed downtown shelter, The Mustard Seed, has indicated the staff-to-client ratio would be about 1:10.
Arcand said the tribal council's shelter in the Fairhaven neighbourhood has a staff member for every 14 clients, while the Salvation Army's shelter has a staff member for every 16 clients.
"Which is unsafe. Even at 1:10, the staffing ratio is unsafe," he said. "All our shelters have to be at 1:5. But again, the province is underfunding. Why?"
Arcand said a warm-up centre should also have a 1:5 staff-to-client ratio "for the safety of everybody."
He said the STC's emergency shelter has problems because it's underfunded.
"We've seen this for the last couple of years," he said. "Violence. We're confiscating weapons, loaded needles."
Arcand said city council has "the trump card" here. He said it would be letting the province "off the hook" on underfunding if it approves the proposed site.
In a statement to CBC News, the Ministry of Social Services said the province is investing $28.9 million in 2024-25 to continue to provide and expand homelessness services — an increase of $16.7 million. It said this includes $16.2 million to support ongoing emergency shelter operations.
The Saskatchewan government did not have a representative at either of two neighbourhood information sessions about the proposed shelter held on Monday.