Sask. NDP disappointed with social services hotel pilots

The Saskatchewan NDP shared concerns on Tuesday after the provincial auditor’s report on two social services programs.

Tara Clemett’s report looked at the new pilot programs implemented in the spring for procuring hotel rooms on an emergency basis for social services clients, giving them a place to go when there are no other options. She also looked at vacancies for social housing units within Regina Housing Corporation.

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For the hotel rooms, the auditor’s office chose to take a look at the new project after the controversy surrounding former Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal’s hotels appearing to inflate prices for government rentals.

One of the new programs has employees get three hotel rate quotes before booking a room, and the other had the ministry enter into a contract with hotels to secure a block of rooms for a year.

The auditor found the ministry wasn’t keeping good enough track of information on these programs to be able to say whether they were helpful.

NDP ethics critic Meara Conway called it disappointing.

“The Ministry of Social Services still hasn’t figured this out. There still aren’t sufficient checks and balances in place to ensure that we’re tracking this and ensuring that there’s accountability,” she said.

She said the three-quote pilot sounded like a bit of a mess in the auditor’s report, and the other just had insufficient information for something that was meant to test a new way of doing things.

“Right now, I just have a big, huge question mark about what the ministry is doing to address the underlying issues, and whether we’re actually even working towards a sufficient solve. And right now, I’m not at all satisfied that that’s the case,” said Conway.

Conway chalked up some of the problems to insufficient retention in the ministry, and said the government hasn’t addressed the human resources issues.

The auditor’s report also looking at social housing in Regina, finding that in 2024 534 of the 3,000 units in the city were vacant, 364 of those were out of service, and 404 households were waiting. The report said the corporation has a target, but needs to come up with a plan to get those vacant units back into service, and to track and analyze both its vacant units and trends in demand.

The auditor’s office also found the housing corporation needs to revisit its housing mix to better meet applicants’ needs. For the past several years, about 51 per cent of the units were designated for seniors, with the other 49 per cent designated for families or individuals, while the demand was 25 per cent for seniors and 75 per cent for families and individuals.

Brent Blakley, the NDP’s social services critic, said the provincial government isn’t recognizing the needs of the province.

“There’s lots of people out there huddling and doorsteps looking to stay warm when one in five Sask housing units are sitting empty in Regina,” said Blakley.

The auditor’s report was published on Tuesday morning, but Social Services Minister Terry Jenson was not made available for a response on Tuesday.