Downtown Saskatoon official discusses temporary shelter

The opening of a new temporary shelter in downtown Saskatoon was delayed Monday.

Saskatoon city council unanimously approved the opening of a new wellness shelter for the Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) just last week.

The hope was to open for Monday, but the STC said the doors will not open until the HVAC inspection has been approved, which is yet to be determined.

The shelter has roughly 10,000 square feet of space and is located in the downtown core on First Avenue North.

While the new shelter is going to save a lot of desperate people from the cold winter months that lie ahead, Downtown Saskatoon executive director Brent Penner says the solution is too late coming.

“Ultimately, we have to have places for people to go in the cold,” Penner said on The Brent Loucks Show. “The fact that we were discussing this on Dec. 8 before council shows some failure on the part of too many people in the community.

“I think it’s a reflection of frankly years of failure in properly addressing issues not only downtown but in the wider community.”

Penner said that’s a good start to open another shelter in Saskatoon, although many different downtown businesses are worried about the future — but he wouldn’t elaborate on what those concerns are.

“Downtown businesses are concerned. Businesses want to be part of the solution, but there’s I think a large amount of frustration at the lack of support we’re getting from government,” he said.

“We feel we’ve put forth legitimate concerns of customers, staff, and employees and for whatever reason, (government officials) are not taking them seriously.”

While the indoor facility may be a wise decision in the short term, Penner feels the city has no plan in place for a long-term solution.

“I’ve been at this role for eight or nine years (and) I don’t think things are getting better,” he said. “We need to have services in place for the people that need them.

“If someone can tell me that this is good for those people how we’re delivering services right now, I’d like someone to look me in the face and tell me that. No one has been able to do that.”

As it stands, the City of Saskatoon is providing roughly $130,000 for in-kind services to help make necessary upgrades to the facility. The STC will also contribute up to $150,000 for additional costs.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the wellness shelter opened Monday. A correction has been made to reflect the shelter’s delay in opening.