REGINA – “People are dying on our streets,” those were the words of dozens of Regina residents gathered around city hall on Thursday.
The group is calling on the city to allocate $10 million annually starting in 2026 “to the construction of affordable, social housing rental units.”
Florence Stratton, organizer of the event, said she would be happy to pay more taxes to fund the increases.
In an interview on Wednesday, Mayor Chad Bachynski said, “It’s something we’d have to take back and look at [for the upcoming budget].”
Funding for such an initiative would either come from the province/federal government or from the city to increase the mill rate.
Bachynski said it would be too early for Regina to look at implementing another tax increase.
As for the other request, the group is calling on the city to remedy the situation at the Glen Elm Mobile Home Community by purchasing the trailer park and fixing all the water and waste pipes.
City council has looked into ways of aiding Glen Elm residents, but a majority of the stuff is out of their hands.
Ward 3 Coun. David Froh mentioned how the city has limited tools available when private property is owned by a landlord.
David Froh (Ward 3) introduced the motion to call a houselnessness crisis in the city. Photo by Martin Oldhues
Froh’s hope is that the landlord can provide an extension to tenants who described the whole situation as a park suffering “emotionally, mentally and physically.”
Along with the city, the group called on the province to raise income for those on the Sask. Assured Income for Disability Program (SAID) and the Sask. Income Support (SIS).
Currently, an individual on SIS gets around $1,000 a month, while one on SAID receives nearly $1,400.
These numbers are way below the poverty line of Regina, which is averaging around $1,875.
The group also called on the province to make all the empty Sask. Housing units available for occupation within the next four months.
To address the current issue of homelessness, Froh said the city will be meeting the provincial government, and he is “quite optimistic about it.”
As for the federal government, they’re being asked to make homelessness a priority in their election campaign.
Stratton said she talked to a federal candidate in her constituency, but they didn’t seem to take the matter seriously in her eyes.
She also wants the National Housing Program to be reinstated.
The program allocated funding to build around 20,000 new social housing units yearly but ended in the 1990s.
While federal parties like the Liberals have laid out plans to build homes, Stratton said it doesn’t give a clear plan towards affordable housing.
Comments