Despite the differences between the emergency shelter in Fairhaven and the temporary shelter coming to Pacific Avenue, Saskatoon Police and Fire have been asked to provide the same level of service to each.

During a regular business meeting on September 25th, City Council requested that Saskatoon Police Service and Fire provide the same services to both shelters, including extended security hours.

At the recent Board of Police Commissioners meeting, Board Chair Shirley Greyeyes questioned how it would be possible to treat the shelters in the same way, as they will differ significantly when it comes to accessibility, types of users, number of users, and footprint.

“How are you going to evaluate the same level of service? Because to me, I don’t know if it can be the same level of service, depending on the circumstances and the clientele within each facility.”

Police Chief Cam McBride says it’s hard to anticipate the level of service the Pacific Avenue shelter will require, but they are developing a plan that will be easy to scale up or down if necessary.

He adds that City Council’s request falls in line with what the city is already doing.

“We’ve been using our alternative response officers and our fully trained police officers to, on a rotational or periodic bases, provide coverage there (Fairhaven).”

A plan regarding how both police and fire will service the Pacific Avenue shelter is currently being put together.