Sask.Opposition criticizes province’s handling of homelessness crisis amid vacant housing units

Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP held simultaneous media conferences in Regina and Saskatoon on Wednesday to reapply pressure on the province to address the ongoing homelessness crisis.

In Regina, NDP social services critic Brent Blakley accused the province of mishandling the crisis despite thousands of vacant social housing units across Saskatchewan.

The Opposition said it obtained data for 2024 through a Freedom of Information request made to the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation. It shows there were approximately 17,200 social housing and affordable housing units in the province and approximately 12.5 per cent were vacant.  

Blakley said it’s all too common to see people sleeping in the streets, some of whom are battling addictions and struggling with food insecurity.

“The Sask. Party has taken us backwards with harmful and thoughtless changes to critical income support programs and zero plans for housing. In fact, they aren’t even using the public housing that they have available,” he told reporters in front of the Legislative Building on Wednesday.

Blakley said the government needs to focus on getting people a roof over their heads, food on the kitchen table and access to supports to ensure they can live their lives with “dignity.”

The NDP said there are nearly 200 units vacant in Saskatoon and more than 400 in Regina. It also said homelessness is on the rise in both urban centres.

“These homes have the potential to save lives, to get people off the streets, to set them up with supports, to get their life back on track and much more,” Blakley said.

He said there are some communities across the province where more than half of publicly owned houses are vacant.

“We know these public housing units are vacant for two reasons — failure to maintain them and make them suitable for people to live in, or a complete lack of planning and foresight by the Sask. Party to address this houselessness crisis,” Blakley said. 

The NDP MLA called on the province to repair units that need it. He also said Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) payments and housing benefits are not nearly enough to address the crisis.

“People are not getting the benefits they need and they’re having to make decisions whether they pay rent this month or whether they feed themselves, he said.

“The SIS payments this year went up a whopping two per cent, which is $30 a month per person. And I don’t know if you’ve been out shopping, but $30 doesn’t buy much.”

In a statement to the CBC Wednesday afternoon, the Government of Saskatchewan said that through continued investments, it is making progress to ensure all residents have access to stable and affordable housing.

The province said that since 2021, it has seen a 30 per cent decrease in the number of vacant units. 

Regina activists call for new policy on encampments 

Shortly after the NDP news conference in, advocates in front of Regina city hall to call on the city to adopt a new policy on encampments. They also want the city to put pressure on the province to get people into social housing units that are currently sitting empty.

The concerned citizens said they want the city to listen to people who have experienced homelessness when designing its protocols.

Activists also called on the city to commit to not removing encampments on municipal property unless people staying there can be provided with permanent housing. They also want more support for encampments, including potable water and bathrooms, and for the city to allow people to remain in a park past 11 p.m. CST.