Wetaskiwin city council stalls homeless shelter project

Wetaskiwin's city council has delayed construction of a permanent homeless shelter after learning of the potential for a new provincial addictions treatment centre in the area.

The homeless shelter, for which the Hope Mission received a development permit from the city of about 13,000 located 65 kilometres south of Edmonton, would have space for 60 people, up from the 42 which the social care agency has been making available via a temporary shelter, which it opened in October last year.

It provides around-the-clock shelter as well as other services including meals, clothing, hygiene supplies, wound care, foot care and mental health assessments.

"We have been at capacity. Right now, we're hovering right near that capacity, and as it gets colder, the demand will increase for service," Tim Pasma, the Hope Mission's director of programs, told CTV News Edmonton on Tuesday.

"There is a demand for and a need in the area for our services there, and that's why we propose 60 because we do feel like there are more people that need that service right now that can't get it."

Council addressed the project during their meeting on Monday because Hope Mission asked for an amendment to the permit to make a few changes to it.

The potential for a new addictions treatment centre between the city and nearby Maskwacis, however — some members of council learned of the possible facility recently while meeting with local MLA and cabinet minister Rick Wilson, Wetaskiwin Mayor Tyler Gandam told CTV News Edmonton — led to a notice of motion brought forward against the permit, effectively stalling it.

A spokesperson for the province's mental health and addictions minister's office wouldn't provide details about a potential new treatment facility in the area, saying only that 11 recovery communities are planned or underway across Alberta.

Gandam said Tuesday it's unclear what the motion means for the Hope Mission development, for which the city donated land and the provincial government committed $3.2 million in partial funding.

"Right now, we’re still determining exactly what that will mean for us going forward and for the project," he said. "We want to see the project move forward. We've got the development permit and the approvals to move forward and it’s another delay and a project we really feel like the community needs to have to support the most vulnerable."

Gandam said council expects to receive more information from city administration next month on the potential for the provincial treatment centre project.

Pasma said Hope Mission has funding in place for construction of the permanent building — a combination of money from the province and from Hope Mission's own resources — as well as drawings and building permit submissions, "everything that we would need in order to start construction on the new facility."

"These setbacks are unfortunate," Pasma said.

"We remain willing to work with the community in any way we can in order to alleviate any concerns, but we definitely feel like the shelter is necessary for the community and also for the people that are vulnerable who have no other place to go."

A shelter and a treatment facility provide different services, Pasma said, but they could "easily" form "a connection with referrals and pathways to treatment from the shelter."

"We're looking at an emergency shelter that provides services to anybody that's in need of a space immediately on any given night whereas a treatment facility is a different approach," he said. "We have a lot of people in the shelter that are dealing with substance-use challenges that having a nearby treatment facility would be very convenient to be referring people to."

Last month, dozens of people attended a meeting in Wetaskiwin to protest the construction of the permanent Hope Mission shelter, airing concerns over a rise in crime as a result of it.

Gabrielle Blatz, Wetaskiwin's deputy mayor, told CTV News Edmonton in November that stopping the project was, at that point, unlikely given "potential massive liability to the city in the form of payment due to Hope Mission."

"Additionally, reversing the decision to donate the land could potentially discourage future cooperation and funding from the province," Blatz said.

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Amanda Anderson, David Ewasuk and Nav Sangha.