STC Chief responds to criticism by a Saskatoon City Councillor
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On Thursday Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Chief Mark Arcand did not mince his words when responding to recent public statements made by Coun. Robert Pearce.
In addition to representing Ward 3, Pearce is also a pastor at a church in Saskatoon’s Fairhaven neighbourhood, and has been vocal about the STC-operated Emergency Wellness Centre in Saskatoon.
During the Saskatchewan Urban Municipalities Conference (SUMA) in April, Pearce asked Premier Scott Moe if he would reduce the capacity at the centre and replace the STC as the operator of the homeless shelter.
City council subsequently removed Pearce from the homelessness subcommittee.
He was replaced by Mayor Cynthia Block.
“He’s got to take some responsibility because at the end of the day, if we can’t work together, that’s fine. I think, he has to make that decision because the Saskatoon Tribal Council is not going anywhere,” said STC Chief Arcand at a media availability on Thursday.
“Stand up and say, ‘I don’t want to work with a First Nations organization because of you, Chief Arcand. Let him say that. I’m good with that and we can go our separate ways and move on,” he said.
In a previous press conference, Arcand labelled Pearce’s requests as ‘disturbing’, and said as the wellness centre follows an Indigenous-led for Indigenous-people approach, the comments felt like ‘an attack’.
It’s not the first time Pearce has approached the province.
He wrote an open letter to Premier Moe, alleging the shelter was “damaging our community,” and that “crime rates were going through the roof, that property damage, vandalism, and thefts were costing us thousands of dollars out of our pockets” .
The letter also went on to say homeless people “were not being helped at all!” (sic), and that shelters should be limited to 30 people and that residential areas should “never be approved as shelter locations.”
The STC Emergency Wellness Centre currently has 106 beds, and offers three meals a day, free laundry services, mental and addictions counselling, storage, and a smudging room. Drugs and alcohol are prohibited on the property.
The shelter is located at the end of a residential block, with no neighbours directly adjacent on either side of the building, and an apartment building across the street from the shelter.
During the press conferences, Arcand thanked city council for removing Pearce from the homelessness subcommittee.
Since being removed from the subcommittee, Pearce has acknowledged through a letter to the media that he understands the decision, but stated he called Arcand to apologize, of which Arcand did not return his call.
Pearce also stated in the letter that since his statements at SUMA, he has received “many messages of encouragement from people all over the city, and especially from those in Ward 3 reminding me of the threats and fears faced by those (in Ward 3),” it reads.
Arcand said he has no intentions of getting into a dialogue with Pearce.
“I think this is just escalating to a point where he doesn’t want to take responsibility,” said Arcand. “I want him to stand up in front of the cameras, the way he did at SUMA, and do it that way, instead of taking the easy way out and sending a letter about how he feels.”
EFN Media did reach out to Pearce for a comment.
Although he did not respond by publication deadline, he posted on social media via the Robert Pearce Ward 3 Facebook page.
On Thursday a post acknowledged Pearce was aware of the news conference by STC Chief Arcand.
“I hope for the the best in that he will indidcate [sic] a willingness to meet and discuss issues personally instead of continuing this in the media, and I offer to meet with him privately anytime he wishes,” the post stated. “To that end, I have no intention of engaging with the media any further on this topic.”
