Saskatoon Tribal Council shelter to evict dozens with 'complex needs'
Saskatoon Tribal Council will bar around 30 people with "complex needs" from its Emergency Wellness Centre as of Oct. 1.
"The Wellness Centre will actually be pushing people with complex needs away that are not following the rules in regards to using drugs on our property," Tribal Chief Mark Arcand said during a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
"They're putting a needle in their arm, or they're using crystal meth and that's the issue. They're not there to get healthy. They're there to actually use drugs in our facility and we've got to find a different mechanism to support those individuals," he said.
"We've been talking to them weekly, daily about what's coming, and they have a choice to make. They know the rules."
While Arcand acknowledges there's nowhere else for homeless people suffering from severe addictions to go, he said the STC is simply not equipped to handle their needs.
"STC is currently not looking [to start] a complex needs facility because I don't have the money to do it. I don't have the money to buy a facility. I don't have the money to run a program for that facility," Arcand said.
"We need facilities in our city ... it needs to be more than one. I'm hoping the City of Saskatoon is listening; the province. No more of these facilities on the west side they got to go to the east side of the city, or the north or the south."
Arcand said the new policy will allow the centre to focus more on families and individuals who the staff are in a better position to help.
He said 68 families and 43 individuals have been successfully housed since the centre opened.
Arcand also revealed the STC has moved 32 families from the wellness centre into a new 55-unit facility called Kotawan 1 — located in the former Monarch Yards building on Avenue K South.
"We've proven it with families and we've proven it that individuals want help. [They] just got to try to get over the hump and we just have this obstacle in this way," Arcand said.
"But we can’t give up on those individuals with complex needs. We've just got to find a place for them to go so they have the proper supports."
When speaking with reporters, Arcand noted the most "chaotic" days at the centre are typically when people suffering from addictions receive their Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) cheques.
"They're going to use their money to buy things that they don't need. They're not using it to buy food, they're not using it to buy clothes or anything like that."
When SIS was introduced in 2019, it marked a departure from previous social assistance programs where money was paid directly to landlords and utilities. Now funds are provided to clients directly.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Trump making 'joke' about Canada becoming 51st state is 'reassuring': Ambassador Hillman
Canada’s ambassador to the U.S. insists it’s a good sign U.S. president-elect Donald Trump feels 'comfortable' joking with Canadian officials, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Mexico president says Canada has a 'very serious' fentanyl problem
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is not escalating a war of words with Mexico, after the Mexican president criticized Canada's culture and its framing of border issues.
Quebec doctors who refuse to stay in public system for 5 years face $200K fine per day
Quebec's health minister has tabled a bill that would force new doctors trained in the province to spend the first five years of their careers working in Quebec's public health network.
Freeland says it was 'right choice' for her not to attend Mar-a-Lago dinner with Trump
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says it was 'the right choice' for her not to attend the surprise dinner with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Mar-a-Lago with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Friday night.
Canadians warned to use caution in South Korea after martial law declared then lifted
Global Affairs Canada is warning Canadians in South Korea to avoid demonstrations and exercise caution after the country's president imposed an hours-long period of martial law.
NDP won't support Conservative non-confidence motion that quotes Singh
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says he won't play Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's games by voting to bring down the government on an upcoming non-confidence motion.
Calgary man who drove U-Haul over wife sentenced to 15 years
A Calgary man who killed his wife in 2020 when he drove over her in a loaded U-Haul has been sentenced to 15 years behind bars.
Speaker's ruling clears path for Trudeau's government to face successive tests of confidence in days ahead
After rallying his party's caucus and staffers on Parliament Hill Tuesday, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh signalled that he's still not ready to help the other opposition parties trigger an early election, yet.
Opposition leaders talk unity following Trudeau meeting about Trump, minister calls 51st state comment 'teasing'
The prime minister’s emergency meeting with opposition leaders on Tuesday appears to have bolstered a more united front against U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s tariff threats.