RORY MACLEAN
News Editor

The Saskatoon Anti-Poverty Coalition wants to see the provincial government develop a comprehensive plan to reduce poverty.

The SAPC joined up with members of Station 20 West to launch a petition for their cause on Oct. 17, beginning with a rally at the future site of Station 20. The event featured music by several performers, including the political songs of Saskatoon’s Raging Grannies, and a nutritious lunch of vegetarian chili, buns, juice and cookies for only $1 provided by the Child Hunger and Education Program.

The petition launch coincided with the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, a day marking the United Nations recognized right of all people to adequate food, shelter and clothing.

According to Vanessa Charles, a former co-chair of the group, approximately 18 per cent of Saskatoon’s population is currently living in poverty.

Increases in the cost of living may have further inflated that number, says Charles.

“Basics such as flour, pasta and bread have doubled in price over the past year. Together with the horrendous increases in (the cost of) rental accommodation, it is very likely the number has increased,” she said.

“No one should be forced to seek shelter under a bridge or in a doorway just because there is a lack of affordable housing.”

Saskatchewan, British Columbia and Alberta are the only Canadian provinces that do not have a poverty reduction strategy. Petitioners would like to see the provincial government provide some income security to ensure that people have access to adequate food and shelter and to implement a formal strategy on affordable housing.

For those living in poverty, the costs of housing and food are closely linked, says Karen Archibald, executive director of CHEP. Research they did last winter showed that with rents increasing in Saskatoon, people were cutting into their food budgets to make ends meet.

When the food budget is cut, many people begin trading food with essential nutrients for those high in calories.

“When you don’t have much money for food you cut dairy and fruits and vegetables, right? Then you fill up on carbohydrates, pastas, potatoes, that kind of thing,” said Archibald. The food budget is the only one that is a little flexible, she said.

CHEP is one of two partners in the Station 20 West project. Along with Quint Development Corporation, the two groups hope to build a “community enterprise centre,” which would include a grocery store, affordable housing and a host of employment and educational resources.

The site is located in Riversdale, on 20th Street and Avenue L, a neighbourhood that has been without a grocery store for years. The affordable housing project is already complete and includes a public library on the ground floor. Archibald says CHEP hopes to have the food store operational by next winter.

Organizers of Station 20 West may have tapped in to the relation between housing and food issues for low-income residents but the Saskatchewan Party government is not convinced it’s the right focus to deal with poverty.

The minister of social services, Donna Harpauer, has come out publically against the development of a formal poverty reduction strategy. She said the most important facet of their current, informal, anti-poverty strategy is economic growth.