Saskatoon city councillor says provincial government is 'manufacturing homelessness'

A public letter from Saskatoon City Councillor David Kirton says the government’s own policies are creating the homeless crisis faced in cities across the province.

Addressing the Premier and the ministers for health, mental health and addictions and social services, Kirton calls on the province to fund facilities for people with complex needs, eliminate the Saskatchewan Income Support program, and to review the Saskatoon Tribal Council's (STC) emergency wellness centre.

CTV News has reached out to the provincial government about the letter and is awaiting a response.

Kirton says changes made to social assistance payments have led to people getting stuck in shelters, because the province no longer pays rent directly to landlords, does not guarantee utility payments and has reduced access to security deposits. As a result, landlords are refusing tenants on income support, he says.

Kirton says the province’s income support system is “manufacturing homelessness.”

“People are becoming stuck in shelters. That is putting pressure on the shelters and those they serve, and putting pressure on neighbourhoods, and not just Fairhaven.”

These policy decisions are putting a massive financial burden on the city, he says.

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Last week, social services Minister Gene Makowsky touted the new $30 per month increase to monthly benefit payments for those on income support as a “significant investment” that will help clients live with more financial security.

In the letter, Kirton specifically references the STC's emergency shelter, which was relocated from downtown a location on the edge of the city's Fairhaven neighbourhood.

“Many of the problems we are seeing in Fairhaven and the Confederation Suburban Centre are associated with individuals who are unhoused and have complex needs (addictions, mental health etc.),” Kirton writes.

“This is not limited to Fairhaven, but in fact can be seen throughout Saskatoon.”

Kirton says most agencies in Saskatoon agree there are about 100 people with complex needs living on the street in Saskatoon.

“They either choose not to stay in a shelter, cannot get a bed in a shelter, or are getting kicked out of those shelters.”

The care for these high-needs individuals falls under the purview of provincial authority, and cities can only treat symptoms, he says.

“So I call on the Saskatchewan Government to fund supported facilities for these 100 people with complex needs. (These facilities also need to be smaller and spread throughout the city),” Kirton writes.

Finding a solution for these approximately 100 people will make it safer for the people inside Saskatoon’s shelters, for business and property owners, and safer for those people with complex needs, he says.