Saskatoon mayor gives 1st 'State of the City' address, acknowledges growing issue of homelessness

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block delivered her first "State of the City" address on Wednesday.

Addressing members of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce over lunch at TCU Place, she started off by touting the city's strengths, like its low unemployment rate and ongoing regional co-operation to drive development in the area.

But Block, who was elected mayor in November, also talked about one of the city's biggest challenges — the growing homeless population.

During a question-and-answer session, the chamber's CEO Jason Aebig asked Block if she was satisfied with the progress on homelessness so far. The mayor said that no, she's not.

"I think it would be impossible to be the leader of the city and say that it's OK what we are seeing in the streets of Saskatoon today," she said. "And it doesn't make me feel any better to know that other cities have it worse, or that all cities are facing a crisis of homelessness."

Block said she is encouraged by the federal government's housing accelerator fund, calling the 757 units that can be created under it an "enormous help." She also said she's grateful for the province's stated commitment to helping people access addictions recovery supports.

"I'm also wondering, though, what happens to the folks that aren't ready for that recovery yet? How are we supporting them?" she said.

Block said it's important for all levels of government to work together and spoke about the city's homelessness action plan, developed by the city, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership.

She said the city is "working urgently" with the province to create a new drop-in centre. New affordable housing is also on the way, "but housing takes time," she said.