Saskatoon Tribal Council shelter leaving downtown, expanding
The Saskatoon Tribal Council's (STC) downtown homeless shelter is moving to a new location and expanding.
The shelter is set to open on Nov. 15 in a former church, at 415 Fairmont Drive, with enough space for 106 beds.
The STC’s current downtown shelter lease ends in March.
Chief Mark Arcand said the STC plans to transition people from the downtown location to the new Fairhaven shelter.
Chet Benson has lived in the Fairhaven neighbourhood since 2016.
Benson said he’s concerned about safety and property value as a result of the new shelter.
“This shelter is worrisome for more B & Es,[break and enters], in the area,” Benson told CTV News.
Benson said he’s upset there was no consultation with residents about the shelter.
“There was no town council meeting about this for the residents. No one reached out to us,” Benson said.
He believes the shelter would be better suited in the downtown, not a residential area.
The STC chief called homelessness “a community issue.”
“I’m not going to apologize to the people in that neighbourhood because there’s nothing to apologize for,” Arcand said.
“The only thing I’m going to say is they need to help us. This entire city needs to help us combat homelessness.”
The building for the new shelter was purchased by the Sask. government for $5 million, with the STC leasing the space.
It follows the government’s move to pull its funding from the Lighthouse, after it came to light that the former director had misused shelter funds.
Thirty-one of the 106 spaces in the new Fairhaven shelter are emergency beds that the STC is taking-on from the Lighthouse’s program that ended in September.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
Student anti-war protesters dig in as faculties condemn university leadership over calling police
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war at at universities across U.S., some of whom have clashed with police in riot gear, dug in Saturday and vowed to keep their demonstrations going, while several school faculties condemned university presidents who have called in law enforcement to remove protesters.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Hamas is reviewing an Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as possible Rafah offensive looms
Hamas said Saturday it was reviewing a new Israeli proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza, as Egypt intensified efforts to broker a deal to end the months-long war and stave off a possible Israeli ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Cisco reveals security breach, warns of state-sponsored spy campaign
State-sponsored actors targeted security devices used by governments around the world, according to technology firm Cisco Systems, which said the network devices are coveted intrusion points by spies.
I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'oesn't get' the global phenomenom.
opinion RFK Jr.'s presidential candidacy and its potential threat to Biden and Trump
Although it's still unclear how much damage Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s candidacy can do to either Joe Biden or Donald Trump this election, Washington political columnist Eric Ham says what is clear is both sides recognize the potential threat.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Russia renews attacks on the Ukrainian energy sector as Kyiv launches drones at southern Russia
Russia launched a barrage of missiles against Ukraine overnight, in attacks that appeared to target the country's energy infrastructure. Meanwhile, Russia said its air defense systems had intercepted more than 60 Ukrainian drones over the southern Krasnodar region.