A Saskatoon pastor is claiming that the Emergency Wellness Centre was created illegally.
Robert Pearce, a Fairhaven resident said he purchased a home in the Fairhaven area because he thought it was safe and affordable.
“But now our streets and parks are unsafe,” Pearce said.
Pearce has a storied history of voicing his concerns about the Emergency Wellness Centre along with other residents in the community.
Protests have been held in the past and Pearce has been part of the community criticizing city council’s approach to the shelter and calling for its closure several times.
He said the community is seeing discarding needles, people getting high and more violent crimes.
Pearce said the Emergency Wellness Centre that was placed in the community is not a wellness centre, describing it as a “warehouse of 106 camping cots offering no real security, no dignity, nor any privacy.”
He said there’s not a single community or city councillor in Saskatoon that has stepped forward to take a shelter in their community.
“This shelter has drawn way too much criminal activity to our community.”
He claimed that the city hasn’t raised a finger to help Fairhaven, but said a potential shelter got cancelled in the Sutherland area.
Pearce said their only hope has been a promise from the provincial government to reduce and possibly close the shelter, but only after other shelter spots could be found.
He claimed the shelter has been operating illegally, saying a letter from the city to social services stated that the Emergency Wellness Centre would be operating as a special care home, which complied with the current zoning for the location.
“The letter clearly states some conditions such as carbon monoxide alarms and fire extinguishers, a commercial kitchen, suppression and exhaust systems would need to be installed.”
Pearce said there was no commercial kitchen inside the wellness centre.
He said special care homes must follow a list of guidelines, but claimed that there have been numerous violations of those guidelines.
The letter, dated Aug. 25, 2022 and sent to Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky from Saskatoon’s Planning and Development Department said that the Saskatoon Fire Department Fire Marshal inspected the 415 Fairmont Drive building and considered it an appropriate location.
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Pearce claimed that if the Emergency Wellness Centre is a special care home it’s illegal based on provincial laws, and if it’s a shelter it is illegal under the zoning bylaws.
“If the city neglected our communities for such a long time and we know they’re looking for more shelters no one should trust the city will do this right, let alone take the responsibility to fix what they’ve done wrong.”
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He claims the community is openly demanding that the city must inspect the Emergency Wellness Centre — an impartial investigator needs to come in and find out how this shelter came to be and how it could be allowed to run illegally. Pearce said a fund also needs to be created for residents and businesses to reimburse their losses created by the shelter.
He added safe and appropriate locations need to be found to replace the Emergency Wellness Centre.
Pearce suggested that a task force needs to be created by the Government of Saskatchewan to focus on homelessness and complex needs in the province.
“It’s time to end the Fairhaven fiasco.”
Pearce said there’s not another community that wants a shelter, adding that any new ones can’t be in a residential area.
“No other community has a 106-bed shelter that’s drawing 200-300 potential criminals to that area.”
Lesley Anderson, Director of Planning and Development with the City of Saskatoon sent a statement saying that the Emergency Wellness Centre does not need to be regulated by the province’s Housing and Special Care Homes Act.
“The definition of Special Care Home in the City of Saskatoon’s zoning bylaw permits ‘a nursing home, supervisory care home, sheltered care home or other facility used for the purpose of providing supervisory care, personal care, and nursing care.’ This land can be used for ‘assembly’ — its former use as a church — and it can also be used as a wellness centre – supervisory care home,” Anderson said.
“They are both under the same zoning category. It does not require the facility to be regulated by the Housing and Special Care Homes Act. The facility has met all the zoning and building requirements of a special care home for the City and inspections have been completed.”
Coun. David Kirton said the zoning for the wellness centre was based off Saskatoon bylaws, not the province’s legislation.
“This claim has been brought up numerous times and has been debunked numerous times,” Kirton said.
He said Pearce has wanted this wellness centre shut down for a while and also took part in the protests against the Sutherland shelter.
“This pastor has absolutely no caring for those who are the most vulnerable in Saskatoon. I ask where Jesus is in his heart?”
Kirton said instead of worrying about two-year-old letters Pearce could be doing something about creating solutions in Saskatoon.
He said he’s concerned about this kind of rhetoric and had a question for Pearce.
“Where do Saskatoon’s most vulnerable go?”
Kirton said there are some residents who are spreading fear in Saskatoon but he invited Pearce to help look for solutions.
The provincial government sent a statement saying that it is the City of Saskatoon’s responsibility to ensure that proper zoning is in place for emergency shelters.
“The Government of Saskatchewan continues to work with the Saskatoon Tribal Council to offer shelter spaces, services and supports for those experiencing homelessness in Saskatoon. Since opening in December 2021, the wellness centre has provided support and stabilization services to individuals, helping them to transition to more permanent housing.”
Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand says it is up to the city to defend what it classifies the wellness centre as.
He said he and the tribal council did not have the authority to approve the wellness centre.
“People are nitpicking and at the end of the day we’re not solving the issue here… we’re going to focus on helping people as we’ve always done,” Arcand said.
Arcand noted that there is a shortfall in funding that is limiting what the wellness centre is able to do.
“We’re showing outcomes and results. We’re helping families and individuals that need a place to stay.”
He said this kind of ‘divide and conquer’ approach being seen by those trying to shut down shelters isn’t helping in an issue that’s impacting the entire country.
“We’ve got to work together to find more solutions because we have violent crimes that are going up, murders, we have assaults on busses, we have everything. And right now, it’s not the wellness centre that is doing all of this stuff.”
Arcand said that the Saskatoon Fire Department has come in and inspected the wellness centre as well as required some changes, but that all those requirements have been met.
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