A day after detailed crime statistics were released for the two neighbourhoods immediately surrounding the Saskatoon Tribal Council's Emergency Wellness Centre, Chief Mark Arcand is marking the data as a win for the community. Arcand says although there are problems outside the 106-bed wellness centre's property, the work happening inside is making a difference. "The police collecting all this data is showing outcomes and results, and I know some people are disheartened by that and some people would approve of that," Arcand said. "But at the end of the day, the Saskatoon Tribal Council is showing outcomes and results." Arcand says the shelter has helped find more than 60 families attain housing for the shelter that is populated 78 per cent by Indigenous people, a fact that makes Arcand proud as the leader of a First Nations organization serving Indigenous people. "We're proving that this model is working by moving families," Arcand said. On Wednesday, Saskatoon police released crime statistics from December 2021 and January 2024 for the Fairhaven and Confederation Suburban Area neighbourhoods following a request from Coun. Darren Hill in February. The Emergency Wellness Centre came to the area in December 2022, and many residents have been vocal about crime they say has increased sharply since then. However, police data was unable to point to the wellness centre as a cause for crime. More crime is being reported in dozens of neighbourhoods in Saskatoon. The data shows violent crimes have fluctuated in recent years, and though property crimes nearly doubled in 2022 when the shelter opened, a decrease since the summer 2022 shows a trend of property crimes decreasing back to 2021 levels. "I think at the end of the day, this is validating what people are saying. Some of them may not like it, but it is what it is -- the facts are the facts," Arcand said. "The rumor was [crime] went up crime went up 1100 times. So what does that tell you? Somebody's not telling the truth." The shelter isn't moving or shutting down, despite repeated calls from residents to close it or reduce the number of people it serves. Arcand announced on Friday the province is providing $4.2 million in funding to keep the shelter operational until at least April 1, 2025. "It's not us versus them. This is all of us coming together to help our community and work together, and I think that's got to be the focus," Arcand said. On Friday, Arcand said he wasn't "pointing fingers", which is a sharp contrast to previous news conferences where he accused his critics of being racist and recently said he was "tired of the bull****" and attacks when a letter was sent to the Ministry of Social Services calling for the shelter's closure. "I'm the type of person that will not sit back and let you attack me because you think that you can," Arcand said. "I'm 53 years old. I'm going to stand up to what's wrong because I believe I have to change a system and I think I've been changing the system in the city through all the work that we've been doing." The Ministry of Social Services says it continues to work with the STC to offer shelter spaces, and the agreement continues on a month-to-month basis. “The operating agreement provides funding for 106 spaces until June 30, with the ability to extend the current space count or reduce the number as the Ministry works with partners to develop smaller emergency shelters in Saskatoon,” the Ministry of Social Services said. While Arcand celebrated Fairhaven's violent and property crimes seeing a marginal impact since the shelter's arrival, data for the Confederation Suburban Centre neighbourhood paints an entirely different picture. In the specified time range, police calls for service have risen 122 per cent. Police have noticed a sharp increase in theft, with 751 incidents happening at one business in 2023. The top five calls in the area are for suspicious persons, disturbance, needing an ambulance, and intoxication. Property crimes in Confederation Suburban Centre have risen 300 per cent since the shelter's arrival. When looking at the five-year average from 2018 to 2022, property crime more than doubled with 1297 incidents reported in 2023 compared to the previous average of 646. With the shelter operating in the area for another year, Arcand is looking to build relationships with his neighbours. "How do we sit down and quit being angry on both sides and just say: 'What's best for people?'" Arcand said.
