STC Chief wants immediate action on homelessness [Video]

A day after city council voted to commit more than $5 million to address homeless shelter and encampment concerns, Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand says current plans fall short of what’s needed.

“City council’s gotta say ‘What are we doing now today? What are we doing now today to serve 1500 people that are on the streets of Saskatoon? And the answer is zero. They haven’t increased any beds,” Arcand said.

Arcand took a break from a staff luncheon to hold a news conference Friday afternoon, where he took up several concerns after a point in time homelessness account conducted by multiple community organizations and over 200 volunteers in October and released on Thursday revealed there are 1,499 homeless people in the city, which is roughly the population of Langham.

The last homeless count happened in 2022, listing 550 people. Arcand says with a near tripling in homelessness, the …