Four Regina city councillors look to declare a 'houselessness emergency'

A group of four Regina city councillors are putting forward a motion to declare a "houselessness emergency" at its next meeting.

City Councillors Shanon Zachidniak, Cheryl Stadnichuk, Andrew Stevens and Dan LeBlanc are set to submit the notice of motion.

“The houselessness crisis requires immediate action before winter to provide safe, barrier-free shelter to those experiencing houselessness in our community,” the motion reads.

According to the proposed motion – the City of Regina has seen a 110 per cent increase in the point-in-time homelessness count in 2021 (488) from the first count in 2015 (232) and 71 per cent in 2018 (286).

In the motion, the councillors call on the provincial and federal governments to provide emergency funding to address the crisis.

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City administration would be directed to create a plan by the end of Q3 of 2023 to provide temporary barrier-free shelter for all Regina residents in need “with the opportunity to provide input from the houseless, Indigenous leaders and local organizations working in mental health, addictions, and housing,” the motion says.

The councillors also demand that the City of Regina makes a long-term commitment to addressing houselessness as part of the 2024 budget process while also calling on the province and federal government to collaborate over the long term.

Lastly, the motion outlined procedures for the city to address encampments which include issuing written safety checklists to help ensure residents are compliant and stating that encampments can only be dismantled for safety reasons if a documented pattern of unwillingness to address multiple safety concerns can be demonstrated in writing to the encampment residents and city council.

The motion follows an eventful summer that saw encampments across Regina be dismantled – most notably in front of city hall itself.

Councillors Leblanc and Stevens were previously involved in a lawsuit against city manager Niki Anderson to include funding to end homelessness in the proposed 2023/24 city budget.

The notice of motion is set to be submitted to the city clerk when council meets on Wednesday.