Sask. NDP Sound Alarm Over Lack of Cold Weather Strategy As Temperatures Drop Below -30°C

REGINA - Today, the Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Ministers Brent Blakley (Social Services), April Chiefcalf (Housing), and Betty Nippi-Albright (Mental Health) released a letter they penned to Sask. Party Ministers Lori Carr and Terry Jenson.

The Saskatchewan NDP Caucus wrote to express their deep concern about the absence of a provincial cold-weather strategy to protect Saskatchewan’s most vulnerable as temperatures drop as low as -31° Celsius this week.

Here’s the text of the full letter:

November 22, 2024

The Honourable Lori Carr

Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Seniors, and Rural and Remote Health

Room 208 Legislative Building

REGINA SK S4S 0B3

The Honourable Terry Jenson

Minister of Social Services

Room 303 Legislative Building

REGINA SK S4S 0B3

Dear Ministers Carr and Jenson,

We are writing to express our deep concern about the absence of a provincial cold-weather strategy to protect Saskatchewan’s most vulnerable as temperatures drop.

While frontline service providers are stepping up and doing all they can, the Sask. Party government appears missing in action, with no decisive measures yet taken.

We must not wait for the first freezing death of the season to act. We urge you to immediately implement a cold-weather strategy that ensures no one is left behind during extreme weather conditions. Homelessness affects communities across Saskatchewan, both large and small. Often, smaller communities are forgotten or lack capacity to deal with such a complex strategy — that is precisely why a provincial strategy is needed.

Beyond this, there is an urgent need to address the root causes that leave so many out in the cold: the rising cost of living, housing insecurity, and the worsening mental health and addictions crisis.

We were shocked to learn that your Sask. Party government ignored an offer of millions of dollars in funding to address homeless encampments and housing by the federal government on Sept. 18. At a time when homelessness under your government has reached record numbers, partisanship and politics need to be set aside, and all resources and funding should be utilized to put an end to this crisis.

These issues require urgent attention and we call on you to:

Open further emergency shelter space to provide safe refuge for people who are homeless;

Discontinue taxing basic necessities like children’s clothing and groceries, which further burden low-income families;

Address the housing crisis by renting out the nearly 3,000 government-owned housing units that currently sit vacant, driving up rental costs;

Make mental health and addictions support a true priority.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss these critical issues further and look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Brent Blakley

Shadow Minister for Social Services

April ChiefCalf

Shadow Minister for Housing

Betty Nippi-Albright

Shadow Minister for Mental Health

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