Tribal chief says wellness centre renovations give ‘relatives some dignity’

Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand is defending the nearly $1 million in renovations underway at the Emergency Wellness Centre in Fairhaven.

A commercial building permit issued on Feb. 24 for 415 Fairmont Drive outlined upgrades such as the addition of 10 new showers, a new commercial kitchen with equipment, 13 water closets, a new sprinkler and ventilation system as well as interior/exterior “landlord improvements.”

“We want to give the relatives some dignity,” Arcand told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

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Arcand said the renovations could make a positive impact for the community.

“When I say the community, it’s not the neighborhood – it’s the entire city when we’re dealing with a homeless crisis.”

“I don’t think people wake up every day and they say, ‘I want to be homeless today,’ or ‘I want to be addicted,’” he said. “These are hard circumstances that we’re dealing with.”

According to provincial government manager of public relations, Leya Moore, $975,000 will be provided from Saskatchewan Housing Corporation through a third-party agreement with the federal government toward the cost of upgrading the facility.

Arcand said such renovations should be a “gold standard” when it comes to these kinds of facilities, pointing to upgrades like the addition of laundry services for visitors at the shelter.

He added that the shelter currently has inadequate showers that cannot be properly accessed by elderly visitors with disabilities.

Arcand pointed to other challenges the shelter has faced such as bringing food in from another facility to feed visitors. With a commercial kitchen, Arcand says the Emergency Wellness Centre could be a service provider for other warming centers.

In a previous telephone interview with 650 CKOM, Ward 3 Councillor Robert Pearce said while the wellness centre is in need of more basic facilities, the approved renovations appear to go against what the provincial government has previously indicated.

“The scope of the work is not indicative that they’re going to give us the promised bed reduction,” Pearce said.

“I don’t think right now is the time we need to say we need to lower beds,” Arcand said. “We actually need to increase beds, in my opinion.”

Arcand said Saskatoon has the highest rates of homelessness in the province.

“Summer is coming, spring is coming. I’m scared that those numbers are going to increase.”

Arcand did not give a date as to when renovations at the Emergency Wellness Centre would be complete.

–With files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff