City council agrees to pursue $3.5M encampment grant from feds

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Regina’s newly-elected city council has endorsed a direct offer from the federal government for an injection of funding to address homelessness encampments.

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At its first executive committee meeting held Wednesday, city council voted unanimously in favour of pursuing a $3.5 million offer through the federal Unsheltered Homelessness and Encampment Initiative.

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Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC) had contacted Regina and Saskatoon in October about the program, offering a one-time funding injection to target chronic homelessness in both cities.

Federal housing minister Sean Fraser said HICC went directly to the cities because the Government of Saskatchewan had not responded to a letter asking to co-ordinate on this program back in September.

“We will no longer wait for them to muster the political will to act as winter gets closer and lives are put at risk,” he said in a statement issued in mid-October.

City manager Niki Anderson said Regina is open to taking the offer, which is contingent on the city submitting an application with an encampment response plan detailing how the money will be spent and a cost-matching guarantee.

“What the federal government allowed us to do was recognize funds already invested” by the city and province, she said.

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If the application is approved, the City of Regina would receive the money over the course of two years. The first round of $1.75 million would have to be used by March 2025 and the second in 2026.

Regina’s plan is to put a total of $1.45 million towards the existing temporary emergency shelter at the Nest, which is operated by Regina Treaty/Status Indian Services. Another $1.4 million would go to the Regina Street Team and $569,000 to the YWCA to supplement shelter beds.

An additional $100,000 would be used in 2026 to fund an encampment response, part of which includes adding a full-time employee to co-ordinate under the community and well-being branch.

Anderson said these initiatives were chosen because they would benefit from a boost but not be at risk of folding without sustained federal funding past 2026.

“I would say it’s not so much about a massive expansion of any program, but rather helping cover the costs of things we already needed to do,” she said.

Administration acknowledged that Regina has experienced growing and unprecedented levels of homelessness in the last several years. Large tent camps at Pepsi Park in 2021 and outside city hall in 2023 have been the most visible, but “smaller, hidden encampment sites are also quite prevalent, too,” notes administration’s report on the funding offer.

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Asked about federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s pledge to cut at least one Liberal housing program if he forms government in the next election, Mayor Chad Bachynski chose not to speculate on whether he feels Regina’s funding is at risk.

“From our perspective, we’re really looking to take advantage of what we have in front of us. Get it and get it on the books, in the right people’s hands, so we can really take advantage and support those programs,” said Bachynski. “That’s our focus right now.”

City council will take a final vote on submitting an application at the next meeting on Dec. 11.

Also on the agenda will be a slate of other items for council to approve, including a proposed mill rate increase for a water expansion project, and setting council’s meeting calendar for 2025.

lkurz@postmedia.com

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