Saskatoon phases out funding for provincial detox centre that some councillors didn’t know existed

WATCH: Saskatoon will begin cutting funding for a provincial detox centre, with some councillors admitting they didn’t know it existed.

Saskatoon will begin cutting funding for a provincial detox centre, with some councillors admitting they didn’t know it existed.

The issue surfaced on day three of budget deliberations, as councillors work through cost-cutting options to reduce property taxes.

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer asked administration about the detox centre’s location.

“I believe it’s located in Pleasant Hill,” Andrew Roberts, the city’s director of recreation and community development, answered.

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“What do you mean, ‘you believe’? I’m not trying to be disrespectful, it just doesn’t sound like we know where this money is going,” Donauer replied.

It was later determined the facility is at 201 Avenue O South and has received city money since 1997. The facility offers short-term stays for people to rest and recover from intoxication or drug use.

City money goes to the province

Administration confirmed the $108,200 grant for the detox centre goes to the provincial government, who operates it.

“This feels like something that is very, very exclusively in the lane for the health authority and the provincial government,” Ward 10 Coun. Zach Jeffries said.

“I’m not even sure why we would have been providing this grant in the first place.”

Councillors voted to cut the grant in half next year and eliminate it entirely by 2027.

Why not scrap the funding immediately?

Ward 4 Coun. Troy Davies said phasing it out is part of maintaining a good relationship with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

“I think it’s just good stewarding to go back to them and say, ‘This is something council no longer wants to support,’ and put those dollars elsewhere,” Davies said.

Davies, a former paramedic, said the detox centre was once a critical alternative to the ER or a jail cell.

“Things have changed,” Davies said, pointing to the facility at 1701 Idylwyld Drive North, which serves as a detox centre and holding site.