REGINA – Comments by Social Services Minister Terry Jenson’s scrum at the Legislature Tuesday drew a reaction Wednesday from the NDP, who issued a news release challenging him to work a shift at the library.
“Not only is this Minister failing to get the homelessness and mental health and addictions crises under control, but he won’t even meet with the library workers that are being left to deal with the issues this government has created,” said NDP Deputy Leader Vicki Mowat in a statement.
"Library workers in this province deserve an apology from Moe’s Minister and I am putting him on notice. Later today in Question Period, we will call on him to work a shift alongside library workers and experience firsthand just how difficult their jobs have become in recent years, and he better have a good answer.”
Concerns about the safety of library workers in Saskatoon made their way to the Saskatchewan Legislature on Tuesday.
Members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees as well as opposition New Democrats raised the issue, calling for the government to implement an emergency plan to support library workers who are left to deal with drug addiction and homelessness issues. They made the call in the wake of incidents of violence impacting the downtown library in particular, incidents outlined in a recent CUPE report.
“Scott Moe’s Sask. Party government has failed to address the homelessness, mental health, and addictions crises that are unfolding in communities across Saskatchewan,” said Kent Peterson, President of CUPE Saskatchewan, in a statement.
“Public libraries and our members are being left to shoulder the consequences without the resources, staffing, or supports they need. We want to see meaningful investment into community services and public libraries in the upcoming budget.”
During Question Period, Education critic Joan Pratchler grilled Social Services Minister Terry Jenson about the safety concerns.
“Twenty years of Sask Party government cuts to mental health, housing, and addictions supports have consequences, and we see those consequences each and every day in our libraries,” said Pratchler, who asked if the government would “take responsibility for the increase in violence against library workers under its government’s watch?”
In response, Jenson said in Saskatoon and Regina that “we have outreach teams that meet people in place, Mr. Speaker, whether that be somewhere in the community. It could be on the street. It could be in front of a library. It could be pretty much anywhere, Mr. Speaker. These outreach teams connect with these individuals and offer them supports, and that is work that we’re doing.”
In speaking to reporters Jenson pointed to the government having invested over $118 million in homelessness services and other health supports, as well as investments in outreach teams, shelter services and additional police officers.
“This is not something that is going to be solved overnight. This is not something that is going to be solved with a snap of the finger. This is something that is going to be solved only with the collaboration and the cooperation of municipalities, the province, the federal government has a role to play in this as well, as well as our Indigenous partners and community-based organizations. It's going to take more than just the province, it's going to take everybody and that's work that I'm really proud.”
As for safety at the libraries, Jenson said in the case of an individual posing a threat to community members, “the police need to be called and that individual can be either taken to Complex Needs Facility or held in a jail cell and possibly charged.”
When pressed on whether he had visited the libraries at all and spoken to staff, Jenson said he hasn’t “personally been inside a library in Saskatoon. I've driven past it on numerous occasions. And are there individuals outside? From time to time I have seen them, but not all the time. So I am aware of that, but again if somebody is working at the library and they're not feeling safe with individuals like that, they need to reach out and phone the police.”
When asked if he thought he should go to the libraries and speak to workers about what's going on, Jenson reiterated that “this is something that, you know, when there's harm being posed and they're feeling threatened, that is where the police have to be involved.”
“They’ve raised the concern. It's a law enforcement issue. If they're feeling harmed, it would be no different than, you know, if somebody's feeling harmed working at 7-Eleven, you know, does that mean I should go and talk to the individual at the 7-Eleven?”
When one reporter suggested this was a Social Services issue, Jenson replied, “but this is a civic facility… operated by the city.”
