The homeless encampment at Avenue K and 20th Street in Saskatoon is being taken down today.
People are packing up and placing their belongings into garbage bags. The site has been fenced off, and a line of officers is slowly moving toward the middle of the encampment, with everything behind them being cleared.
As crews move to dismantle the large encampment, Carla Beck’s team is again calling on the Sask. Party to take responsibility for the housing and homelessness crisis that has left people with nowhere else to go with winter approaching.
“Taking down tents does not end homelessness,” said April ChiefCalf, Housing Shadow Minister. “It moves people, and unless there is somewhere safe and appropriate for them to go, it does nothing to solve the crisis.
“People will die this winter because this provincial government refuses to act.”
Municipalities are left responding to encampments and navigating the difficult questions of public safety and displacement. Frontline organizations are working to connect people with food, health services, outreach and shelter, often while operating under significant resource constraints.
“Minister Terry Jensen needs to answer a basic question: where are people supposed to go?” said ChiefCalf. “It is not enough to point to a non-existent shelter bed or a warming station as shelter.
“People should not have to choose between sleeping outside in the cold and entering a shelter that does not meet their needs. And community organizations should not be expected to compensate for years of failure to provide enough housing and support.
“Minister Jenson has a responsibility to make sure our neighbours have somewhere safe to go this winter — a place where they can access services, maintain their connections, and begin moving toward permanent housing. We cannot wait for a tragedy to recognize the consequences of inaction.