City funding boost for shelter won’t cover shortfall: Saskatoon SPCA
The Saskatoon SPCA wants the city to cover the costs an animal faces when going from pound to shelter.
The city only currently funds the SPCA’s pound service — the first four days an animal arrives to the SPCA.
After the four-day holding period, the animal is turned over to shelter services and the animal is eventually put up for adoption.
Some animals need to be taken to a clinic or into foster care before being eligible for adoption.
Acting SPCA executive director Trina Mortson said the funding would “help bridge the gap for animals after their holding period.”
City administration recommended the city cover 20 per cent of this service with a $285,000 Shelter Services Support Grant.
“Their financial situation is strained,” Lynn Lacroix, city manager of community services, told council.
Councillors voted unanimously to cover the Shelter Services Support Grant in 2023 with a one-year only payment of $95,000 — significantly less than the original request.
“We're grateful that there is some additional funding. But we're disappointed that it's not meeting the initial ask that we were hoping for,” Mortson told CTV News.
“So we're still going to be looking at well over $200,000 shortfall to cover our costs.”
The grant is in addition to $825,800 budgeted for the SPCA pound services.
About 1,800 animals are transferred from the pound to the shelter every year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING | Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion dies at 101
Former Mississauga, Ont. mayor Hazel McCallion, nicknamed 'Hurricane Hazel,' has died. She was 101 years old. Premier Doug Ford said McCallion died peacefully at her home early Sunday morning.

Majority of affordable homes approved under federal program not yet constructed
The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.
As Canada's RCMP marks 150th anniversary, a look at what it says needs to change
After years of reports and allegations detailing a 'toxic' workplace, Canada's RCMP says it is trying to evolve, focusing on diversity in its organization and repairing relationships with communities as it marks its 150th anniversary.
Memphis police disband unit that beat Tyre Nichols
The Memphis police chief on Saturday disbanded the unit whose officers beat to death Tyre Nichols as the nation and the city struggled to come to grips with video showing police pummelling the Black motorist.
Tyre Nichols case revives calls for change in U.S. police culture
Tyre Nichols' fatal encounter with police officers in Memphis, Tenn., recorded in video made public Friday night, is a glaring reminder that efforts to reform policing have failed to prevent more flashpoints in an intractable epidemic of brutality.
Once-in-a-lifetime discovery: Indigenous jacket that may be a century old turns up in small U.K. town
When 1990s suede fringe jackets started making a comeback last year, a U.K.-based vintage clothing company decided to order four tonnes of suede from a supplier in the United States. Along with that shipment came a once-in-a lifetime discovery.
How to get over the 'mental hurdle' of being active in the winter
When the cold and snow have people hunkering down, these outdoor enthusiasts find motivation in braving the Canadian winter through community and sport.
'Don't be numb to this': Battling despair over gun deaths
When President Joe Biden signed a bill last year to fight gun violence -- the first such measure to pass Congress in a generation -- a substantial majority supported it. But 78 per cent said they believed it would do little or nothing at all, a survey by the Pew Research Center found.
Hearing testimonies from e-cigarette users may deter students from vaping: study
According to a new study, showing university students the health risks of vaping through experts and personal testimonies can help deter them from using e-cigarettes.