STC Chief Mark Arcand calls for more homeless resources

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Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand is calling for an immediate response from several levels of government amid a dramatic spike in the number of people without permanent shelter in the city.

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The 2024 point-in-time homeless count found 1,499 homeless people in Saskatoon in October, which is almost three times higher than when the last count was done in 2022. That count identified 550 people facing homelessness, including 26 children and 84 youth.

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“We need immediate assistance, as soon as possible, because there’s a crisis in Saskatoon,” Arcand said on Friday, adding that these numbers reflect what frontline staff are seeing at shelter spaces like the Emergency Wellness Centre in the Fairhaven neighbourhood.

Arcand called on both the provincial and city governments to commit more resources.

“This is a serious issue. I need the mayor and I need the council and I need the city staff to listen to the Saskatoon Tribal Council, because people are out there that are freezing.“

Arcand has been critical of the city’s plans to address homelessness, noting back in November that additional shelter spaces should have been ready in September.

“What are we doing now, today, to serve 1,500 people that are on the streets of Saskatoon?” he said.

The Mustard Seed, an Alberta-based Christian non-profit chosen by the provincial government, has taken over the transitional housing operations at the former Lighthouse location downtown.

Meanwhile, a temporary emergency shelter slated for Pacific Avenue — a provincial government project which is also to be operated by The Mustard Seed — will not open until renovations are finished. Officials have said they expect it to be ready in March 2025.

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The city has created a Community Encampment Response Plan to use federal funding from an unsheltered homelessness and encampments initiative, which was announced on Thursday.

The plan includes a capital project valued at $4,483,122 — to be covered by the federal government — for supportive housing units with a community space, and a study for a potential future community navigation centre.

The federal money will be allocated over two years, and must be spent by March 31, 2026.

The city also plans to spend $275,000 from the initiative fund, alongside an agreement with the provincial government to support the planned enhanced emergency shelter in the city’s downtown.

Responding to Coun. Robert Pearce’s call on Thursday to have the STC Emergency Wellness Centre relocated, Arcand said he was disappointed but would support an orderly and planned relocation if a suitable replacement site is found and appropriate funding put in place.

That shouldn’t be the focus at the moment, because lives are at risk and immediate action is needed, he said, noting that a disproportionate number of First Nations people are affected by this crisis.

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