A group of community activists gathered Thursday at a vacant lot in Regina that was once home to 24 government-owned social housing units. “We demand the Government of Saskatchewan stop demolishing social housing units, especially if they’re not committed to rebuilding social housing,” said organizer Mandla Mthembu. Last winter the same group gathered at the site, questioning why hundreds of units were sitting vacant in the city. Days later the provincial government said the complex was deemed unsafe after part of the building was damaged by a fire in 2024. Community advocates feel the government has an obligation to rebuild. “For this lot, we demand that social housing is returned back to this place, that when we drive by and the people in the community live here, they don’t have to stare at empty lots,” he said. The concerns come as more people without housing are moving into tents, including a recent gathering at Pepsi Park - which was also a site eventually cleared away by the city in 2021. “The reality is we’re spending way more on the cost of people being unhoused than we would be to provide the social housing that is necessary,” said Regina Anti-Poverty Minister Peter Gilmer. In a written statement, the provincial government said it has 2,795 rentable housing units in Regina, with 2,453 currently occupied. The province said the majority of the 342 vacant units are either available for rent now or expected to be available within 30 days. Those numbers don’t include several dozen units already demolished. Community groups say replacing those lost units is critical to helping more people move from the streets into stable housing.
