Motion to declare ‘houselessness emergency’ fails at Regina city council

The motion put forward to declare a homelessness crisis in Regina was defeated 6-2 during Wednesday’s city council meeting.

It was one of five items in the motion put forward by Ward 8 Coun. Shanon Zachidniak.

Zachidniak and Ward 1 Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk voted in favour of it while councillors John Findura (Ward 5), Lori Bresciani (Ward 4), Bob Hawkins (Ward 2), Jason Mancinelli (Ward 9), Landon Mohl (Ward 10) and Mayor Sandra Masters voted against it.

Councillors Andrew Stevens and Terina Nelson were not present at Wednesday’s meeting, and Coun. Dan LeBlanc wasn’t present for the vote.

“I think what you saw from council in the majority was that the motion itself, if I was to summarize councillors’ comments, was performative,” Masters said.

“We have a plan to end homelessness, we have clearly outlined within that plan our investment which we have far exceeded and the continued work that we’re to do which is co-ordinating and collaborating — that’s still the plan that we’re following.”

The motion was prompted by the dismantling of the homeless encampment that was in front of City Hall back in July.

Among the other items included:

• Calling on the provincial and federal governments to contribute emergency funding (item 2);
• Ensuring that encampments are given a written safety checklist (item 5 a)
• That encampments can only be taken down for safety reasons (item 5 b)

Item 2 was defeated 6-2 with Zachidniak and Stadnichuk voting in favour while Mancinelli, Masters, Mohl, Bresciani, Findura and Hawkins voted against.

Items 5a and 5b also lost.

Item 3 recommended that council direct city administration to come up with a plan by the end of Q3 2023 to provide temporary shelter, while item 4 asked the city to make long-term commitment to addressing “houselessness.”

After a successful motion by Hawkins, both of those items were referred to be dealt with during the budget.

Masters, Hawkins and Mancinelli argued that the city was already doing things suggested by the motion, such as consulting with the provincial and federal governments for support.

Masters also said the city has been advocating for supportive housing, rapid housing and expansion of national and provincial mental health and addiction strategies.

The mayor did however note that the city can still improve its approach to co-ordinating access to help and messaging to the public.

“We’ve made a commitment to getting better; that’s work that is underway,” she said.

Masters also acknowledged a service gap in terms of how difficult it can be to access services.

“If I have 100 people asking five people or 100 people asking 20 people what they need, it creates confusion,” Masters said.

She also addressed another concern raised by delegates, which was the issue of people in need not having any sort of identification with them — which creates another barrier for getting help.

“I don’t know that I have the solution yet, but it’s on the radar because we know that social services is aware of the problem as well,” Masters said.

When asked by Zachidniak, Fire Chief Layne Jackson said there were 14 encampments throughout Regina but it was difficult to say just how many people are living in them.

Emotions were running high throughout the meeting. One woman was escorted from the gallery after shouting at council.

She spoke out as Hawkins praised the decision to take down the City Hall encampment.

When it became clear that the homelessness motion was not likely to pass, several disgruntled people in the gallery left.

A few voiced their frustration as they walked out.

“The blood is on your hands,” someone said as they were leaving.

At one point, Masters threatened to clear the gallery if there were any more remarks.

Special meeting amendment

Another motion forwarded by Zachidniak was voted on in separate parts. In order to prevent the repeat of an incident like July’s encampment takedown (which happened immediately after the cancellation of a planned special meeting), a bylaw amendment was put forward.

Item 1a of the motion asks for councillors to receive a 24-hour advanced notice of planned special meetings. It passed 5-4.

Item 1b amends that a special meeting cannot be cancelled due to a lack of quorum. It lost 6-3 with LeBlanc, Stadnichuk and Zachidniak voting in favour.

The vote on amending the bylaw passed in a 6-3 vote.

Saskatchewan Drive Corridor Project

The Saskatchewan Drive Corridor plan was referred back to the administration until Q2 2024. City administration said the plan is for it to be built over the course of 30 years.

Delegates spoke out against the plan, some calling it anti-business as well as an increased risk for pedestrians. Delegate Jim Elliott argued that the plan runs counter to the city’s sustainability goals and framework.