moe, feds butt heads over letter seeking cooperation on homelessness
“let me be clear: we will no longer wait for them to muster the political will to act as winter gets closer and lives are put at risk."
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saskatchewan party leader scott moe gestures while speaking during a campaign event in moose jaw, sask., on thursday, oct. 24, 2024.
heywood yu
/
the canadian press
saskatchewan party leader scott moe says he will commit to working with the federal government to address homelessness, even as ottawa plans to bypass the province and work directly with municipalities. in a letter sent last month, federal housing minister sean fraser asked provinces and territories to work with ottawa to find shelter for those experiencing homelessness.
on tuesday, fraser announced that since saskatchewan did not respond to an offer before entering the current election period, the government plans to hand out funding directly to the cities of regina and saskatoon.
even though saskatchewan is in an election period, fraser said “there was ample engagement before the letter was sent, and there is no longer time to wait.”
at a campaign stop in moose jaw on thursday, moe said the funding is a “positive” and should his party form government he said it “will work with the federal government and our municipalities.”
saskatchewan party leader scott moe arrives at a campaign event in moose jaw, sask., on thursday, oct. 24, 2024.
heywood yu
/
the canadian press
at the same time, he raised an eyebrow at the timing of the letter.
“i won’t comment on whether there’s a little bit of politics at play here, with this coming out and saskatchewan being named,” said moe.
but as weather cools, the feds say there is an impetus to act quickly.
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“let me be clear: we will no longer wait for them to muster the political will to act as winter gets closer and lives are put at risk,” said fraser in the release.
while regina and saskatoon have been specifically earmarked to receive funding, the feds said the current list, which also includes calgary, edmonton and toronto, is “not exhaustive.”
“we will be approaching more communities that have demonstrated an ability to quickly respond to encampments,” said fraser.
ndp leader carla beck says her party is also ready to collaborate with the federal government to work out the best plan to address homelessness, if elected on monday. she also said saskatchewan should be working with municipalities and the federal government to ensure they can provide services for homeless populations.
ndp leader carla beck greets supporters during a press conference after releasing her party’s full election platform. photo taken in saskatoon, sask. on friday, oct. 11, 2024. (michelle berg / saskatoon starphoenix).
michelle berg
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reg
throughout this election period, the ndp has committed to introducing rent caps, making vacant provincial housing units available to families and increasing the supply of rental units.
beck made three campaign stops on friday, starting in prince albert before making her way to yorkton and then fort qu’appelle. as the party leader makes her final pleas to voters this week, some polls are showing the ndp will have one of their best showings in a provincial election in several cycles. however, most polls still show a sask. party win.
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in addition to homelessness funding, moe was also asked thursday about how a recent ruling by saskatchewan’s conflict of interest commissioner that a former sask. party mla gary grewal breached conflict of interest laws would be handled. moe said penalties would be handled by the legislative assembly.
“i won’t preclude anything with respect to what might happen after oct. 28,” said moe.
voting week kicked off on tuesday. early polls are open daily until saturday, with the final day of voting set for oct. 28.
— with files from the canadian press
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