Supporting urban aboriginal people wise policy for city council

The civic elections are now finished, and the new city councils have to stop posturing and campaigning and get down to work.

As any politician will say, talk is cheap and meaningful actions cost money. Cities have numerous institutions within their boundaries such as hospitals, schools, police services and social agencies. These agencies are funded by public money, and are run by their own boards and administrations. The job of city council is not to run these institutions but to provide a climate where they can thrive and meet the needs of citizens.

The big challenges facing Saskatchewan cities include managing growth, providing services, maintaining infrastructure and working with the expanding indigenous population. The past few decades have seen a population explosion of aboriginal people, mainly in the core area and west side of Saskatoon and the north end in Regina.

First Nations and Métis people are no different from other rural people anywhere. There is a steady shift of people from rural areas to urban areas in search of better services, employment and education.

This urban migration has brought to the cities thousands of First Nations and Métis families who need housing, education and so on. Housing has been a perennial problem, with slumlords gouging on rent and providing overcrowded conditions.

Organizations such as CRESS housing for First Nations families and Métis Urban Housing provide good housing at reasonable rates, but much more is needed. The newly elected city councils should seriously look at providing incentives for low cost housing and other subsidized shelter for those who need it.

In Saskatoon, the province has refused to provide funding for stabilization beds at the Lighthouse, which is a move that is penny-wise and pound-foolish. The Lighthouse is a shelter for homeless people, which also provides stabilization unit beds for people who are under the influence of alcohol and drugs but don’t need medical attention. The alternative is a police cell or a hospital bed, both of which cost much more than a bed at the Lighthouse. People who are placed in a jail cell are also treated like criminals when they have addictions issues.

Sure, the province may save some money in the short term by refusing to fund stabilization beds, but Saskatoon Police Chief Clive Weighill has warned that crime will increase and more individuals will end up in hospital and in police custody — both of which are costly alternatives.

The next issue is public safety. I hesitate to call it law and order, because that implies a tough on crime policy. Instead, the Saskatoon and Regina police services have done a good job of reaching out to the public and recasting their role as that of protectors and not an occupying force, as witnessed south of the border.

Regina police recently held a “Community Cop Day” and walked the streets in the North Central neighbourhood, meeting with local residents and business owners. By the way, the term “cop” is not a negative title or name-calling. In Britain, police officers wrote daily reports and signed them with their name and title, “constable on patrol,” which became abbreviated to COP.

Many aboriginal people come to the city because they need special health care and need to be close to a hospital or a specialist, which are not found on reserves. We have many individuals who are handicapped and restricted to wheelchairs. They require special assistance that’s not available on reserves.

Diabetes is a plague in Indian Country. Consequently, people are missing limbs or require regular dialysis, so it stands to reason that those with advanced diabetes would move to the city. But when we leave reserves, the federal government refuses to recognize our treaty rights. We need off-reserve medical and social service centres to deliver treaty entitlements to urban aboriginal people.

This is not within the jurisdiction of city councils, but they can most certainly support our leaders when they request action from Ottawa.

And of course, under the surface of all Saskatchewan towns and cities we have to deal with the underlying racism, which has the potential to hold us all back and poison society. We must grow and overcome our petty differences and work together as a community.

If the newly elected city councillors can do this one thing, their time in office will have been a success.