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Thursday, March 11, 2021
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Lighthouse closure staved off
31, 2021
Rally Days
Métis Nation steps up Staff
in bureaucracy at the expense of those most at risk. MN–S sees the urgent need for these citizens within the Battleford region and will utilize emergency COVID money to ensure they don’t fall through the cracks, especially at a time like this.” said MN–S Housing Director Christena Konrad. While the funding to North Battleford Lighthouse supported living emergency shelter will ensure that homeless populations have a shelter they can access, MN-S has also entered into broader discussions with the Battlefords Agency Tribal Council (BATC) to look at ways to address homelessness. These discussions focus on establishing strong and sustainable partnerships within the community to create holistic homelessness responses and supports to serve the Battlefords region stated Friday’s release. Last Friday, Don Windels, executive director of The Continued on Page 3
Métis Nation–Saskatchewan announced Friday of last week it is stepping in to provide funding to The Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords emergency shelter to keep it open during the pandemic. The announcement comes a week after The Lighthouse Supported Living out of Saskatoon had to give notice to 22 staff members in North Battleford due to funding drying up. MN-S Housing Minister Ryan Carriere, said, “The homeless are the most susceptible when it comes to COVID-19 and with no other apparent homeless shelters in the Battleford region, MN–S will take up the challenge and fund the 37-bed facility. Discussions are also underway to determine a path toward more substantial, community funding partners that could see a shelter operate indefinitely.” “MN-S recognizes the need for housing often becomes entangled
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Rallies in support of the Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords have been going on last week and again this week, including today, March 11. The Lighthouse had faced potential closure, but was rescued by a grant from Métis Nation — Saskatchewan. However, organizers of the rally note this is interim funding that is only guaranteed until September. They also note the Saskatchewan government is using an “outdated” per diem model of shelter funding. The purpose of the rallies, according to the organizers’ news release, is to “bring attention to the precarious funding situation faced by homelessness shelters in Saskatchewan and the work of the main organizers who are publicly rallying every day against this situation.” A number of speakers were expected Thursday, including Claudia Turner – Save the Lighthouse organizer and client of the Lighthouse, Richard Wolfe – Save the Lighthouse co-organizer, MLAs, city councillors and Lighthouse staff. According to the news release, the demonstrations have been going on since March 4 and have included what is described as a core group of about 10 clients from the Lighthouse. The photo above is from the first awareness event March 4. Photo by John Cairns
911 fees doubling to pay for upgrade Staff The fee for 911 we all pay on our phone bills is doubling and will increase in future in line with the consumer price index. In a release issued Monday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency stated the monthly Sask911 Fee will be increasing from $0.94 per month to $1.88 per month, effective April 7, 2021. “In preparation for sys-
tem upgrades and to ensure that the residents of Saskatchewan can continue to depend on timely and efficient emergency services, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) is upgrading its 911 technology,” stated the release. In order to fund these upgrades and maintain essential 911 services for Saskatchewan the fees will be going. The provincial 911 system is funded through these fees, which
are applied to all phone bills. The 911 fees have not been adjusted since January 2018, the release points out. “The citizens of Saskatchewan rely on 911 technology in order to receive police, fire and emergency medical assistance when they need it the most,” SPSA President Marlo Pritchard said. “The existing system is ageing, and these upgrades are required to ensure that Sask-
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atchewan residents can continue to rely on secure, resilient 911 technology.” In the future, these fee increases will be indexed to the Consumer Price Index for Saskatchewan to ensure the long-term financial sustainability of the system without requiring regulatory changes. In 2020, 911 received 470,000 calls by the three Sask911 Public Safety Answering Points in the province.
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