Moose Jaw’s homeless shelter to be moved out of downtown, province says

WATCH: The Ministry of Social Service says Moose Jaw’s Willow Lodge shelter must be moved out of the city’s downtown. Mick Favel has the details.

In a surprise announcement, the Ministry of Social Services says Moose Jaw’s Willow Lodge shelter must be moved out of the city’s downtown – following feedback from businesses and residents.

During a news conference on Wednesday, Justice Minister Tim McLeod and Premier Scott Moe joined Moose Jaw Mayor James Murdock and Alex Carelton, chair of the Moose Jaw Downtown Association, to discuss the situation.

According to Murdock, discussions from the Ministry of Social Services were communicated with him and others on Wednesday, instructing the relocation of the shelter.

“They have asked that the city provide locations that we may feel may be appropriate, so those discussions will start as they have already this morning, and there will be further dialogue to be communicated over the coming weeks, with regards to some proposals for that,” he said.

When asked why the shelter needs to be relocated, Murdock said the concern from the ministry was on protecting downtown businesses and services.

“I believe that the case has been provided with the downtown businesses that we need to remember that the downtown core and district is vital to the operation of the city and for enhancing what we offer for services,” he said, reiterating that the directive came from the Ministry of Social Services, not from the Moose Jaw Downtown Association.

“So, the ministry feels that the best way for that to be achieved is to see that a permanent, temporary shelter be relocated in an appropriate area in the city of Moose Jaw.”

Carleton said he was also only told about the directive on Wednesday.

“We’re just finding out this today as well, but I think there’s been a lot of passionate business owners that are worried about their livelihood and we’re trying to come up with ways to be compassionate, and work with people in the community and helping them but on the same hand, our tourism is very important, and our businesses – we have to be mindful of them and we want to make sure that we’re protecting our downtown,” he said.

The Saskatchewan NDP commented on the apparent lack of the discussion between the province and the mayor, as well as the Moose Jaw Downtown Association.

“At the press conference, which started over 30 minutes late, it was announced that the city’s shelter will be moved out of the downtown core. The announcement seemed to take Mayor James Murdoch and the Moose Jaw Downtown Association by surprise,” the party’s statement read.

“When asked, the mayor told reporters that he just learned of the provincial government’s unilateral decision moments before the event started. He said that the Downtown Association did not ask for it to be moved.”

McLeod, who is minister in charge of several portfolios and the MLA for Moose Jaw North, said that while the mayor and the downtown association did not receive the request directly from the ministry, he said when temporary shelter services were introduced, it was in collaboration with municipalities that they would find the location and the province would fund the spaces.

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“That continues, and so the request of the city is to work together with the Ministry of Social Services to identify a location that the city feels is appropriate, that isn’t negatively impacting the downtown businesses and the surrounding residents in the area, who have very much expressed concern,” he said.

“It’s a collaborative conversation,” he added. “The conversation has been very much ongoing together with the downtown businesses and the residents who are reaching out to their locally elected [officials].”

Premier Moe pointed to poisonous drugs as one of the root causes that lead to people living on the streets. He said moving the shelter is not about reducing services, it’s about enhancing services while keeping communities safe.

“Those services are necessary, not just in Moose Jaw but in many of our urban and rural centers across Saskatchewan and across Canada,” he said. “It’s about reducing maybe some of the peripheral impact that providing those services might have on the safety of our communities.”