Landlord association says changes to income assistance leading to rising homeless numbers

Changes made to Saskatchewan’s income assistance programs are contributing to a rise in homelessness in Saskatoon, says Cameron Choquette, the CEO of the Saskatchewan Landlord Association.

On Tuesday, the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership released its 2022 Point-in-Time homeless count. When the last one was completed in 2018, 120 volunteers counted 475 people who were experiencing homelessness.

The count, which didn’t occur in 2020 because of the pandemic, took place once again this year with 90 volunteers on April 28. There were 550 people counted this time as homeless, a 15 per cent increase.

That wasn’t a shock to Choquette,

“I’m not surprised at all that we’ve seen an increase in homelessness because these folks are struggling to find rental housing providers that are willing to rent to them, and the (Social Services) Ministry has a system that isn’t giving them the tools to be successful,” he said.

Nearly one year ago, on Aug. 16, 2021, the association sent a letter to Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark and councillors.

It indicated the Ministry of Social Services eliminating direct payments to rental housing and utility providers, centralizing benefit administration to an online system, providing security deposits only once every two years, and consolidating rent and utility payments — effectively reducing the overall benefits provided — would create barriers for people and families trying to find homes and to keep those homes.

Choquette believes that over the last year, that’s proven to be true.

“We say that because even if there are a bunch of vacant affordable homes in Saskatoon or in the province, the changes to SIS (the Saskatchewan Income Support program) have created a systemic barrier for people to access that housing because the ability to pay rent or security deposits has been significantly diminished,” he said.

“Rental housing providers both in the private market and not-for-profit sector cannot take on such a huge risk with clients who have shown a lack of ability to pay on time and in full. And without that partnership with the ministry with direct payment, rental housing providers just can’t take that risk,” he added.

The amount of money those on income assistance are receiving is also not enough for most people on income assistance to be able to afford housing, utilities, food, transportation and other costs.

“With only $575 to $625 a month … with average rents in the market for a one-bedroom that are well north of $800, we could see that it’s just not feasible for some of these SIS clients to find adequate housing,” Choquette said.

In a statement, Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky said the province invested an additional $11.4 million to increase SIS benefits.

Choquette said that’s not nearly enough, and while direct rent payments have been reinstated for high-needs clients only, it has been an “arduous and cumbersome” process for clients to direct rent. He’s hoping all clients who choose to have direct rental and utility payments can do so.

There also needs to be a conversation about the amount income assistance clients are getting. Adding federal GST credits or child tax benefit payments to provincial income assistance doesn’t cut it.

“Fundamentally, the income assistance provided in Saskatchewan is inadequate, especially with rising rents that we’ve seen … The $30 that was allocated in the March 2022 budget to increase benefits for SIS clients is just grossly inadequate,” he added.

Choquette is also hoping to see more subsidized housing in Saskatchewan, something he says doesn’t get prioritized enough.