The NDP is calling for more emergency and secondary shelters to be made available to women fleeing interpersonal violence in Saskatchewan. Even though there are federal housing dollars on the table to build more, operators can’t build them because Saskatchewan is one of only two provinces that doesn’t provide operating funding for second-stage housing. 

“Saskatchewan has one of the worst records of domestic violence in the country, and to see the Sask. Party leave funds on the table is extremely disappointing,” said NDP Deputy Leader and Corrections and Policing Critic Nicole Sarauer. “Many women have been let down because of the Sask. Party’s unwillingness to do the right thing.”

Women are at the greatest risk of domestic homicide in the days and hours after leaving their abusers, and each month 600 Saskatchewan women fleeing interpersonal violence are turned away from shelters because there isn’t enough space. 

“The status quo isn’t acceptable,” Sarauer said. “Women in Saskatchewan urgently need the province to invest in operating funding for second-stage shelters.”