Saskatoon downtown, 20th Street library branches closing for a month due to overdose crisis

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 8:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) is closing 2 branches for a month, arsenic the city's protracted overdose situation is overwhelming unit and stretching resources, SPL says.

The downtown Frances Morrison Library and the Dr. Freda Ahenakew room connected 20th Street West are closing March 22 and won't afloat reopen until April 21, according to an SPL statement. The libraries volition partially reopen April 14 for pickup of reserved items.

"We purpose to make an inclusive situation for each residents of Saskatoon, [but] we cannot service arsenic a refuge for radical with obscurity other to go, who request enactment with addictions and who are experiencing aesculapian emergencies," SPL CEO Carol Shepstone said successful the statement.

Library unit responded to "at slightest 48 overdoses oregon cause poisonings" truthful acold this year, astir treble the fig from the aforesaid play successful 2024, according to SPL.

"We person besides seen a important emergence successful challenging nationalist behaviour and the escalation of convulsive patron behaviour," the statement said.

"Public libraries are captious assemblage resources, but they cannot capable the void near by the deterioration and deficiency of captious societal and wellness services."

Last year, akin issues led to reduced hours astatine 4 SPL branches, and unit went connected onslaught implicit wages and information issues. After getting a caller contract, the Canadian Union for Public Employees (CUPE) 2669 said the woody addresses wellness and information issues for employees, specified arsenic protections for unit moving alone.

Exacerbating the existent concern is this week's temporary closure of Prairie Harm Reduction's drop-in centre and supervised depletion site to springiness its staff clip to retrieve from a dense workload stemming from the overdose crisis.

The SPL said its unit can't supply "safe and effective" services successful the look of an summation successful homelessness and unprecedented spike overdose cases caused by a toxic cause proviso successful the city.

"Addressing the expanding fig of aesculapian emergencies and convulsive incidents successful the room is beyond our capacity," according to the SPL statement.

"Our employees look the challenging task of referring radical to assemblage services that are often unavailable oregon overcapacity owed to a deficiency of resources."