Saskatoon city council approves bylaw changes to allow for emergency homeless shelters

City council has approved a change to the Saskatoon's bylaws that would allow for temporary emergency homeless shelters to be set up in the city.

On Monday, council voted unanimously in favour of allowing temporary shelters to be created in the city.

The Saskatoon Fire Department has set up an emergency operations centre in response to a spike in homelessness in the city. The department estimates roughly 100 people are homeless in the city and at least three fires have been started accidentally at encampments so far.

The city was approached by several agencies, including the Saskatoon Tribal Council, looking to set up temporary shelters to deal with the situation.

A bylaw change like this would normally have to be approved by the Municipal Planning Committee, but council decided to skip that step in order to speed up the process.

"This isn't something anyone wants to have to be doing, and I think we all understand that the best outcome is for the need to be short lived," said Coun. Hilary Gough during the meeting.

Any group interested in creating a shelter will have to submit a detailed plan to the city, outlining how many people will be staying in the shelter as well as where emergency exits, washrooms and fire extinguishers will be located.

The shelters will not be allowed in neighbourhoods with low-density housing or residential parks, and will not be allowed to be placed anywhere that is not safe. The shelters are meant to be temporary, and are only allowed to operate for a maximum of six months.

The shelters will also need to be properly staffed.

A second motion to refer the matter to the Municipal Planning Commission in September2022 for review was also successful.

The city said it had been talking toagenciesincluding the Saskatoon Tribal Council and The Lighthouse to develop the policy.

While several groups have shown interest in setting up an emergency shelter, no one has submitted a formal plan and request yet.

On Nov. 15, Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services set up a 40-bed emergency shelter in the city.