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A meeting hosted by Saskatoon West Conservative MP Brad Redekopp, and co-hosted by the Riversdale Business Improvement District and the newly formed Saskatoon West Business Association will take place tonight, aimed at discussing the impacts of Prairie Harm Reduction, to community safety on the city’s west side.
According to Health Canada, Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) is the only supervised consumption site in Saskatchewan which must apply for, and receive federal approval every year to operate. The organization has had that federal approval since 2020.
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It does not receive provincial funding for the supervised consumption site services, but relies on donations to operate.
According to the last report, dated Feb. 2025, since 2020, there have been 7,818 unique clients, more than 23,000 visits to the facility, and 155 non-fatal overdoses at the facility.
Kayla DeMong, PHR executive director, said she found out about the community meeting two days ago on social media.
That post, she said, was not just to discuss safety, including break and enters at area businesses, loitering, aggressive behaviour, vandalism, theft, drug use and discarded needles, but also to talk about the yearly application to continue running the site.
“They’re asking businesses from all over the west side to share their experiences to do with these things, who aren’t located directly near us.
“I think what they are trying to do is blame a whole bunch of issues that are affecting businesses all over the place … because there is nowhere to go and they’re trying to say it’s all our fault,” she added.
DeMong said the number of people accessing and using PHR is growing, and it’s not because of the facility, it’s because of increased community needs.
“We are a strong advocate for public safety. We work closely with the police. We recently provided a letter of support to increase policing in the neighbourhood, and to have more officers visible in the neighbourhood,” she added.
Staff at PHR are aware there are hundreds of people accessing their services. When it originally received its federal approval to operate, they didn’t anticipate how quickly the number of users accessing the facility would grow.
“We aren’t the cause of what’s happening. If we were to close our doors, it wouldn’t make the people go away. It wouldn’t fix the problems that people are identifying as safety risks,” she continued.
“We are here responding to something that is happening in our community and we are doing the very best we can.”
DeMong noted that Saskatoon fire department members regularly clear up encampments in the alley behind the facility, and that Saskatoon police also closely patrol the area.
There have been safety concerns near PHR in the past. In May 2024, Canada Post issued a notice to businesses in the 1500 Block of 20th Street West that delivery would temporarily be suspended, citing the need for a “safety assessment” in the area.
The notice, dated May 13, 2024, said the mail carrier wanted to ensure the safety of customers and delivery staff.
Randy Pshebylo, executive director of the Riversdale Business Improvement District, said the amount of social disruption, encampments and crime occurring where PHR was located, wasn’t fair to businesses and residents.
DeMong acknowledges there can be safety issues, people congregating and other concerns that they’re working to try and mitigate. She notes that St. Mary’s Church has erected some fencing and some businesses have also hired security officers.
She plans on attending tonight’s meeting between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Confederation Inn.
CKOM has reached out directly to Redekopp’s office and communications representatives, but were told his schedule at the time could not accommodate a telephone interview.
