'Very disturbing': STC chief blasts Saskatoon city councillor's shelter comments at SUMA

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 17, 2025 6:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand didn't perceive the nationalist comments a metropolis councillor made astir his exigency shelter, but it lone took a infinitesimal earlier helium heard astir them.

On Wednesday, Saskatoon Ward 3 Coun. Robert Pearce spoke during a "bear pit" league astatine the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Association (SUMA) yearly normal and asked Premier Scott Moe if helium would see replacing STC arsenic the relation of the Emergency Wellness Centre successful the Fairhaven neighbourhood.

"When helium stood up astatine SUMA, my telephone blew up," Arcand said astatine a Thursday quality conference.

"People were telling maine what helium conscionable said and I was concerned. I wasn't determination to support our name, our estimation successful beforehand of strangers, different mayors, different councillors."

Pearce, archetypal elected to metropolis assembly past year, represents Fairhaven and made moving the STC structure retired of the neighbourhood his apical run issue. STC operates the 106-bed shelter, which opened astatine the existent determination successful 2022, under a work and backing statement with the province.

Arcand said Pearce's comments are "very disturbing" erstwhile the metropolis is dealing with a lodging situation and a emergence successful homelessness. Arcand questioned wherefore Pearce is singling retired an Indigenous-led shelter, portion ignoring issues astatine different shelters successful the city.

"If this is his ain idiosyncratic presumption past helium should not beryllium a metropolis councillor successful my view," Arcand said. "He needs to beryllium moving with each of america unneurotic to effort to lick a situation we person successful Saskatoon and not to people STC anymore. This has to stop."

Pearce did not respond to messages requesting an interrogation astir STC's response.

This is not the archetypal clip Pearce and Arcand clashed implicit STC's Emergency Wellness Centre. Pearce has blamed the structure for a emergence successful transgression and different disturbances successful the neighbourhood. Arcand said transgression rates person since returned to levels seen earlier the structure opened.

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block called Arcand connected Wednesday aft the SUMA convention. Arcand said the politician apologized for Pearce's comments. The mayor's bureau confirmed the 2 spoke, but did not supply details astir the call's contents.

On Thursday, Block posted a Facebook connection thanking radical moving with and supporting unhoused radical successful Saskatoon, and specifically mentioned STC.

"As a captious and trusted spouse to the City of Saskatoon, STC continues to pb with compassion and strength, playing a pivotal relation successful addressing homelessness successful our community," Block said successful the societal media post. "Their enactment and taste contented are helping signifier solutions rooted successful dignity and inclusion."

The SUMA carnivore pit lets mayors and councillors from crossed the state enactment questions to the premier and furniture ministers successful a nationalist forum. Pearce asked Moe 2 questions.

"Will this authorities honour their committedness to trim the beds successful Fairhaven present that different structure is successful place, and volition you enactment with the metropolis successful bid to find replacement beds for those shelters?" Pearce said astatine the SUMA convention, referencing the opening of a caller downtown shelter.

"And secondly, volition you see replacing the relation arsenic much palmy operators look to beryllium successful spot and look to beryllium enjoying overmuch much occurrence with the communities astir them?"

Moe had a wide reply for Pearce.

"We're not looking astatine replacing the operator," Moe told delegates.

Moe besides said determination are nary existent plans to trim the beds astatine the Fairhaven shelter, but suggested smaller shelters could beryllium the modular exemplary arsenic the state opens up much facilities successful Saskatoon and different communities.

STC and the Ministry of Social Services are negotiating a caller backing statement for the Fairhaven structure that volition tally to the extremity of the 2025-26 wintertime season. Reducing the 106 beds is not presently portion of the caller agreement, Arcand said.

Earlier this year, Pearce toured Saskatoon streets astatine nighttime with stateless advocator David Fineday. They met radical who are unhoused, handed retired blistery drinks and offered rides to shelters.

"There's a precise existent situation. People are going to die," Pearce said astatine the time. "We support talking astir delays with fund and needing to bash things quicker and amended due to the fact that radical dice regardless."

WATCH | Saskatoon metropolis councillor says nighttime walking the streets showed harsh realities: