Today the provincial government is lifting the eviction ban that protected tenants from losing their homes during the pandemic. Landlords can once again issue eviction notices to renters whose payments are in arrears. 

Criticism and support for the move have been heard from across various sectors, but what about from those now potentially facing homelessness?

Jody Oakes is a residential support caseworker with the John Howard Society. She expresses some of her concerns:

"We know that fall and winter are coming. People wouldn't necessarily be evicted on August 4th but that's when the process would be started. Then the concern is that after the process of hearings is completed it could be later in the year when things are starting to get cold."

According to Oakes, a complicating factor is the provincial government's 2019 change to the Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) program. Previously, tenants had the option to have certain assistance payments made directly to their landlord and utility providers, thereby ensuring prompt payment. Under the new program, that option is gone. All assistance payments would go to the clients, who would then be responsible for their own affairs. Oakes believes that this was a big mistake on the government's part as it left some people in circumstances that they didn't have the resources to cope with.

"Some tenants could manage and paid their own rent but a lot of people couldn't manage that piece. And for the landlords, before, they knew that the rent was going to be coming in but now they're out that money as well."

To add insult to injury, the problem becomes even more difficult if low-income tenants also received CERB payments.

"If you've collected CERB as well as received housing benefits, you will be cut off of both programs for a certain period of time once CERB ends. I know one person right now who has been cut off for four months so they will have no source of income for a long time. People think that individuals who live off of assistance programs get all this money but they really don't. It's not a lot of money to buy food and cover living expenses."

Oakes would like to see the provincial and municipal governments address the real issues behind homelessness, like addictions, mental health, food security, and poverty.

"We need to realize the trauma that has led to homelessness. I'd really like to see the city do a homeless count in Moose Jaw. We see a few people on the street and think, 'Oh, there's only three or four homeless people in Moose Jaw.' But I think we have a lot of unseen homelessness in the city, like people who are couch surfing. It would be great if the city took a bigger role in these issues and brought some organizations together to ask 'what can we do as a city to address this.'"

Oakes says that the homeless clients that she works with want people to try and understand their perspective and the reasons why they become homeless in the first place.

 "Anybody could become homeless at any time. We just see them as 'street-people' but they are normal people like you and me who had a piece of trauma in their lives. We don't realize just how close many of us are to that same kind of trauma and resulting homelessness."

Since she started voicing some of her concerns publicly, Oakes has received numerous requests from members of the public asking how they can help. A number of concerned citizens intend to keep meeting and petition the city to address this complicated issue.