More tents have moved in at the encampment near 20th Street West as questions remain about if or when the city will clear it. The Salvation Army counted 60 tents this week, up from 52 on Thursday. Alvin Henderson and his dog, Misty, have lived at the encampment for the past two weeks. He said the location keeps him close to the services he needs. “In this spot here, we have a lot of resources. We’ve got food, we got doctors over there, dentists — everything is here,” he said. On Tuesday, a Saskatoon judge rejected an application to stop the city from clearing the encampment. Justice Richard Danyliuk highlighted a lack of evidence in the advocates’ application. “The applicants have put forth absolutely no evidence from any resident of the encampment who would be personally affected by the city’s actions or my order,” Danyliuk ruled. With the injunction application rejected, the city is declining to say if or when it will proceed with clearing the sites. Crews were not at the encampment Thursday. “The city will decline speaking publicly about any of its operational plans,” it said in a statement to CTV News. The city said its approach focuses on connecting people with available supports while addressing health and safety concerns. Shelters under pressure Mayor Cynthia Block said there is enough shelter space for people staying at the encampment. “We have been assured by the police and the fire department,” Block said on Monday. Salvation Army executive director Gordon Taylor said the 90-bed shelter is full most nights. “It used to be that winter was the busy season, in summer a little less so. But there’s no ‘not busy season’ anymore,” Taylor said. Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand said the 106-bed shelter in Fairhaven has also been consistently full. “We’re busting at the seams. And I think, at the end of the day, we need more facilities like this to really help,” Arcand said. As the nights get colder, Henderson questions where people will go if the encampment is cleared. “Where are we going to go?” he said. “Because if this camp gets torn down, it’s going to pop up somewhere else.”
