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.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Tonya Ruby credits her 27-year-old son's speech language pathologist for the progress he's made in his recovery from a traumatic brain injury.
A Sudbury, Ont., man says he's disappointed that the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario won't hold a hearing on his complaint regarding the need for 24-hour public access to washrooms for people living on the street.
Late last year, multiple tenants in small apartment buildings around Halifax got similar letters from their new landlord, stating their leases would soon be terminated. But no reasons were given.
After paying the wrong power bill for more than four years and six months after discovering the unusual error, a Moncton man is still waiting for his refund.
The majority of Quebec residents had their power back Monday morning after a strong storm swept across the province Sunday, knocking down power lines and flooding major intersections and buildings.
Manitoba is looking to expand the infrastructure it has to monitor air quality, a step experts say is important to better map pollution and its long-term health effects worsened by smoke billowing from wildfires.
The senior lead physician of a Saskatchewan Medical Association program that provides help for rural doctors is speaking out on the challenges they face, after a number of temporary rural emergency room closures forced by a shortage of medical professionals in the province.
Five months into a job action that has brought public transit in the Cowichan Valley to a halt, frustration and anxiety are mounting and locals say it's taken a toll on the lives of low-income residents and has cost some their jobs.
A heat warning is in effect for Hamilton, Niagara, Brant and area with humid weather expected to blanket the region for most of the week.
Canadian travel to the United States has dropped in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats.
It's time to pull out the bug spray.
This trucking association is calling City of Thunder Bay 's designated route a major 'trade barrier'
The Ontario Trucking Association is calling on the province to intervene after Thunder Bay city council approved a new truck route bylaw that will restrict most transport trucks from using Dawson Road and Highway 102.
About one-third of Canadians have become obese — with more weight gain happening during the pandemic, according to a new study.