SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan NDP continued to call on the provincial government to come up with an emergency plan to address the growing overdose cases in the city, which could reflect a public health emergency.
Health and Addictions Shadow Minister Leroy Laliberte said Saskatoon's downtown continues to be overwhelmed by addictions and overdose incidents, citing reports that Saskatoon firefighters respond to more than 600 overdose calls every month.
"What we're seeing in Saskatoon is not just a housing crisis. It's not just an affordability crisis. It's also a growing mental health and addictions crisis. The worsening drug crisis has overrun Saskatoon's downtown," said Laliberte, the Athabasca MLA.
“Firefighters have gone public calling for more support as they respond to 600 or more overdoses every month in the city alone. Think about that. More than 600 overdose calls every month. That should be setting off alarm bells across the government."
Laliberte accused the government of failing to respond with the required urgency and having no plan to match the scale of this crisis, even after a month when the city’s firefighters’ union called for additional resources after overdose calls rose sharply this spring.
"The question for Scott Moe and the Sask. Party is this: How many more people are we going to lose before they wake up and do their jobs? Saskatchewan people deserve better than this. They deserve a government that takes homelessness, mental health and addiction seriously, and they deserve a government that acts before another life is lost,” said Laliberte.
"People are desperate, frontline workers are sounding the alarm, volunteers are stepping in to fill the gaps, municipal leaders are asking for help. It's the responsibility of this government to provide the resources so people can provide the services. The government has been neglecting this crisis, and we're seeing it throughout the province."
Laliberte said the challenges extend well beyond Saskatoon and have been happening everywhere, including communities in the north, south, and northwest, and across Saskatchewan, which is experiencing similar problems, and accused the government of not taking the crisis seriously.
However, Social Services Minister Terry Jenson said the government is responding by expanding treatment options and working with frontline organizations to address increasingly complex issues, including new drugs circulating on the streets.
He acknowledged that service providers have raised concerns about substance abuse and the appearance of new drugs on the streets. Still, he said the province's response must recognize that every individual experiencing homelessness or addiction has different needs.
"Each of these people that find themselves in this position, they're their own individual. They've got their own background, their own story. They could be suffering from trauma, they could be suffering from an addiction or substance abuse problem, which is predominantly something that we see quite often,” added Jenson.
He said the province works with organizations, including the Saskatoon Tribal Council, the Mustard Seed, and the Salvation Army, to gather information during intake, allowing service providers to adjust supports and move clients through treatment and housing programs.
"We have our Indigenous partners, and when they're working with those individual clients, we are taking information from the clients where they're willing to provide it. That allows us to make decisions as we go and pivot to support those individuals,” Jenson added.
Jenson said the government is concentrating on increasing treatment capacity and implementing compassionate intervention legislation, with a focus on expanding the number of treatment spaces not only in Saskatoon but across the province.
"These are things that are going to help so we can get people that are in the shelter system right now that maybe do have a substance abuse or a drug addiction problem into treatment spaces so they can begin that process of leading a healthy life going forward," he added.
