City, tribal council at odds over homelessness letter

The City of Saskatoon and the city’s tribal council are sparring after a city councillor penned an open letter to the provincial government calling attention to the problem of homelessness in Saskatchewan.

Mark Arcand, tribal chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council. (650 CKOM file photo)

Mark Arcand, tribal chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC), was up in arms Tuesday over the letter written by Ward 3 City Councillor David Kirton.

In his letter, Kirton highlighted concerns over homelessness, complex needs, mental health and addictions in Saskatchewan. He advocated for the Saskatchewan Income Support program to return to its previous format — paying landlords directly to minimize eviction risks — and drew attention to changes in Saskatoon’s Fairhaven neighbourhood after the opening of STC’s emergency wellness centre in the area.

“Everybody is doing the best that they can, including the STC, but my concerns surround the size of the facility in terms of 106 beds, and the dynamics the people in the neighbourhood have been witnessing from people with complex needs,” Kirton wrote.

Kirton called for a working group to review the emergency wellness centre, in order to allow the city to better understand its impacts.

Arcand went through Kirton’s letter during a news conference on Tuesday, and didn’t hold back his criticism.

He said a working group is already in place, with bi-weekly meetings that involve the STC along with representatives from organizations including the Saskatoon Fire Department, Saskatoon Police Service, Saskatchewan Health Authority, the Government of Saskatchewan and the City of Saskatoon.

Arcand acknowledged that social disorder has increased in Fairhaven since the shelter was moved there from its previous downtown location, but said the STC and its various partners are continually working to improve the situation.

“We are at a partnership table with everybody that’s doing the work in the city of Saskatoon,” Arcand said, adding that Kirton has not attended the meetings.

“(Kirton) doesn’t understand because he’s not talking to me as the chief of the Saskatoon Tribal Council,” he added.

Arcand also said a review of the wellness centre has already been completed by the provincial government.

Much of what Kirton wants to see done to address the issue of homelessness is already embodied by the work happening at the shelter, Arcand added. The tribal chief said the problem of homelessness is one that stretches throughout the entire city, far beyond Fairhaven.

Other efforts are needed to counteract the growing homelessness issues in Saskatoon, Arcand said, but he emphasized that planning and funding is needed, and there’s only so much the STC can do successfully. Arcand referenced the numerous services the wellness centre offers beyond its role as a shelter. He said those range from mental health support to taking kids to school.

The tribal chief called out Kirton and the city for not contributing funding to the wellness centre since it moved to its new location, and said the city needs to contribute more financially. He then challenged Kirton to put forward a motion for city council to provide $1.5 million to the shelter to support its operating costs.

Arcand said he thinks Kirton is “playing politics with people’s lives” through his letter, and said he felt “blindsided” because Kirton did not inform him about the open letter before it was published.

“We are doing the heavy lifting in the city of Saskatoon,” Arcand said.

Kirton’s letter came as the STC is negotiating a new contract with the Saskatchewan government, as its previous agreement expired at the end of April. Presently, the shelter is in a deficit, Arcand said, because of high capacity throughout the winter.

Arcand said Kirton’s comments are hindering those negotiations, and said he wanted Premier Scott Moe and provincial ministers to know he had no part in Kirton’s letter.

While the tribal chief said he supports changes to address shortcomings with the social assistance programs and more beds for those with complex needs, he noted that he has yet to see a proper plan in place.

Arcand said Kirton’s letter is “complaining” and full of demands without any action.

Responding to the tribal chief’s concerns in an interview, Kirton said he wrote the letter because homelessness is affecting every city, town and village in Saskatchewan.

The issue was raised at the recent Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association convention held in Saskatoon, when 90 per cent of delegates voted for a resolution calling for changes similar to those Kirton outlined in his letter.

“It is a crisis and it’s growing,” Kirton said. “It’s growing weekly. You can see the difference in this city weekly.”

Kirton said he has sincere appreciation for the work being done by the STC, and said he would love to continue to work with the tribal chief as he has in the past.

He clarified that his call for a review wasn’t meant to step on toes or repeat work that has already been done. Instead, he said, he wants to see a review that could outline any gaps in service that exist in Saskatoon.

With more than 100 people in Saskatoon homeless and dealing with complex needs like addictions and extreme mental health concerns, Kirton said there is often nowhere for them to go.

When they’re not in a shelter, Kirton said they are out in the community, struggling while creating fear and angst and often and necessitating the involvement of police or other emergency services.

According to Kirton, Saskatoon’s fire chief and assistant fire chiefs are “working around the clock trying to keep up” with work associated with people who are homeless and living with complex needs.

“It’s not a slight on the tribal council,” Kirton said.

“I want to work with the tribal council. Let’s get rid of these gaps. Let’s try to help these people.”

He said the letter was not driven by complaints he’s received from residents in the Fairhaven community.

At Arcand’s request for a $1.5-million funding commitment from the city, Kirton didn’t bat an eye.

“I have absolutely no problem with that,” Kirton said, but he noted the money would have to be directed to areas where it could make the largest impact.

“We need to review where those gaps are so we know where to do that,” he said.

Kirton said the city’s involvement in address homelessness has been ongoing since 2012. He said the city is solely responsible for funding more than 3,400 units in Saskatoon.

“Don’t tell me the city doesn’t have skin in the game when our fire chief and our police chief are working around the clock to work with this,” Kirton shared.

Kirton said he agreed that the city could do more, and said he will be working to do more on a personal level as well.

The city councillor said he’s spoken with Arcand “numerous times,” and only asked him to acknowledge the change that Fairhaven has undergone in the past several months.

“As you don’t acknowledge that, as long as you call everybody who complains to you racist, then all we’re going to see is the neighborhood and the tribal chief butt heads constantly,” Kirton warned.

He also maintained that the letter was addressed to the province and not to Arcand, which is why he didn’t consult with the tribal chief before publishing it.

“I think the tribal council is doing an amazing job … but the crisis continues to build and there’s more and more people with complex needs out there,” Kirton said.