Temporary complex needs emergency facilities in Regina, Saskatoon set to open within days

Complex emergency needs facilities in Regina and Saskatoon will open in the coming days, according to the province's minister of mental health and addictions. 

In an interview on Monday, Tim McLeod confirmed the news first reported by CKOM earlier in the day. 

The location in Regina, at 430 Pioneer Dr., is the site of a former Saskatchewan Health Authority facility. McLeod said this location is set to open in the coming days. 

In Saskatoon, the facility is located at the former site of an SLGA liquor store on Idylwyld Drive North and 38th Street West. It will open next week, McLeod said. 

"The training of the staff has been ongoing for several months, making sure that they've run mock scenarios and they're familiar and comfortable with the type of clientele that they're going to be receiving," he said. 

EHN Canada is set to operate the two facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Staff will include clinical counsellors, licensed practical nurses, registered nurses, support staff and security.  

According to provincial documents, the government has agreed to pay EHN Canada up to nearly $820,000 for the (now-concluded) 2023-24 fiscal year and more than $9.5 million for the current 2024-25 fiscal year.

The locations, which will have 15 beds each, are meant to be temporary as part of an 18-month pilot program. 

"These facilities are for individuals who are needing to be detained by the police under the Summary Offences Procedure Act because they represent a threat to themselves or others," said McLeod. 

The act allows for individuals to be detained for a period of 24 hours or until an individual is no longer at risk of harm to themselves or others. 

McLeod said these are typically individuals with complex needs, including addictions, who need to be supervised. 

Regina police Chief Farooq Sheikh told media on Tuesday that the facilities will make the job for his officers easier. 

"What we've been doing, we've been detaining people, holding them ourselves until they sobered up and then released [them], and there's nobody really following up with them," Sheikh said.

Instead, the complex needs facilities will offer people treatment from professionals capable of properly treating them, the chief said. 

Sheikh said he believes this will also free up police resources as officers will not have to look after individuals arrested under the Summary Offences Procedure Act for hours at a time. 

Minister addresses concerns 

Although residents in both cities have raised concerns, McLeod said the two facilities should not disturb anyone in the surrounding neighbourhoods.

"Nobody will be released out the front door of these facilities," he said. "They're not walking up and knocking on the door, and nobody will be walking out of the front door upon their discharge." 

When people are discharged from the two facilities, there will be a discharge plan that includes transportation to an off-site support service, McLeod said. 

The facilities were planned in consultation with the city council and police in each city, McLeod said. 

Although police forces have always had the power to detain someone under the Summary Offences Procedure Act, McLeod said the needs of individuals who are being detained have become increasingly complex. 

He said the government has continued to recognize that attempting to place individuals dealing with addiction in the province's hospitals is not the correct approach. 

"We've created these two facilities as pilot projects and we will assess and evaluate as the pilot transpires," McLeod said. 

He stressed that these two facilities are not part of the province's commitment to create 500 addiction treatment spaces in five years. 

The province has already created more than 200 of the 500 spaces it has promised. 

"We're making great strides," McLeod said. "We're working on a central intake system to make it easier for people to access those spaces."