P.A. council passes contract zone for permanent shelter in 6-3 vote

Edwards has long been a proponent of the city pushing the province to deal with growing issues of homelessness and associated addictions and mental health disorders.

“There’s been a lot of work put into this. This isn’t a willy, nilly decision,” he said.

Several of the newer councillors (Dan Brown, Bryce Laewetz) have said the process feels rushed.

However, an effort to have a permanent shelter in the city has been present since the YWCA started about five years ago.

Every location that was a potential site was rejected by the community members as being unsuitable. The YWCA eventually gave up, handing the reigns of the temporary shelter over to the PAGC this spring.

The province, via Sask Housing, will be the owner of the property if or when the deal finalizes but has contracted the PAGC as the operator.

One of the concerns expressed by the members of the public and some councillors is that the operator or owner will be able to expand from the current plan of 45 beds to a much bigger number.

That is not the case and one of the reasons council said it opted for a contract zone was to be able to exert some control over that and other issues, such as security.

A number of residents of the neighbourhood were at the meeting because it included a public hearing portion.

Several opted to speak on the record about their reasons for opposing.

Tami Santiago compared the city’s role to that of a parent dealing with multiple family members in a home and one of them is causing issues.

“When we have a family member who is in our home and they’re causing problems in our home, what happens to them?” she said.

She went on to say that the role of the parent is to provide the troubled child with love and support, but they also must consider the needs and safety of the other children.

“Do they consider the individual only or do they consider the entire family in their decision making? We have to love that child, support that child but we also have to understand that the other members of the family cannot be disregarded.”

The development permit for the shelter was to be on the agenda as well but was taken off at the beginning.

Given the mail strike, the Community Development department said that they could not guarantee that all affected residents had been notified.

Craig Guidinger said staff were calling as many people as they could, even up to that morning but asked that the item be delayed until he could ensure all property owners were given notice.

Another public hearing is required to pass the development permit in this case, but people will need to register with the city ahead of time.

In January, the city held a series of four public meetings in each quadrant of the city as part of their community engagement plan.

Other public hearings have been held over proposed locations, such as in the West Flat area.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

P.A. council passes contract zone for permanent shelter in 6-3 vote

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