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A new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says Saskatchewan needs greater provincial involvement to address the housing and homelessness crisis in Regina and Saskatoon, while a researcher says similar pressures can be felt in smaller communities such as Estevan.
In A Cracked Foundation: The worsening homelessness crisis in Regina and Saskatoon, author Noelle Greuel examines the province’s role in addressing homelessness and argues municipalities face limitations because of their budgets and legislative powers.
The report points to rising rents, declining social supports and a shortage of affordable housing as major factors contributing to homelessness.
CCPA senior researcher Simon Enoch, who is based in Regina, said the province has many of the tools needed to address those underlying issues. “The Saskatchewan government needs to take the initiative granted by its position of power and do its part to address homelessness,” Enoch said in the report.
While the report focuses on Saskatchewan’s two largest cities, Enoch says the same underlying housing pressures can affect smaller communities, although homelessness may be less visible. “One of the things you do find, though, in more rural areas or smaller towns is it tends to be less visible,” Enoch said.
He pointed to couch surfing, sleeping in vehicles and other temporary living arrangements as examples of homelessness that can be difficult to identify.
That can make it harder for service providers to identify people who need help and for communities to get an accurate count of people experiencing homelessness.
Enoch said smaller communities can face particular pressures when an influx of workers or residents increases demand for housing.
He pointed to Estevan’s experience during previous economic booms, when increased demand contributed to work camps and people renting hotels and motels for extended periods. “People that are vulnerable and lower income when those sorts of booms happen are under tremendous pressure,” Enoch said.
The CCPA report says Saskatchewan renters have faced a 26.2 per cent increase in the cost of a one-bedroom unit over three years, the highest increase in the country over that period. It also notes that Saskatchewan does not have effective rent control legislation.
Enoch said those pressures can be especially difficult for lower-income residents when communities have limited rental options.
He also said Saskatchewan has limited legislation protecting tenants from rent increases and eviction.
The report says Saskatchewan has 16,988 social housing units, with 2,795 in Regina and 2,422 in Saskatoon. It argues those numbers fall short of the need for deeply affordable housing.
Enoch said there is also a waiting list of more than 400 people for Saskatchewan Housing Authority units.
The report calls for increased social housing, stronger tenant protections, social assistance that reflects the cost of living and measures to prevent people from losing their housing in the first place.
Enoch said mental health and addictions support are also needed alongside housing.
One approach highlighted in the report is Housing First, which focuses on providing people with safe, stable housing before addressing other needs. “You give people a stable shelter place that they can call their own, and you build from there,” Enoch said.
That can then be followed by access to services addressing mental health, addictions, and other needs.
The report points to Medicine Hat, Alberta, as an example of a community that has used Housing First to address chronic homelessness.
Enoch said the growing visibility of homelessness in Regina and Saskatoon shows the urgency of the issue, but communities outside the major cities should also be aware of less visible forms of homelessness. “The problems are the same and the solutions are the same,” Enoch said.
The CCPA report concludes that municipalities cannot address the root causes of homelessness on their own and calls for the Saskatchewan government to expand deeply affordable social housing, strengthen tenant protections and provide social assistance that better reflects the cost of living.
