Temporary closure of Saskatoon library branches amid overdose crisis needed but won't fix broader issues: CUPE

Jeremy Warren · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 21, 2025 8:02 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The national representing Saskatoon Public Library workers says the impermanent closure of 2 room branches implicit information concerns stemming from an overdose crisis is the close happening to bash — for now.

On Friday, the nationalist library announced a month-long closure of its downtown Frances Morrison Library and the Dr. Freda Ahenakew room connected 20th Street W. in the aftermath of the city's protracted overdose crisis. 

Library unit responded to astatine slightest 48 overdoses oregon cause poisonings truthful acold this year — almost treble the fig from the aforesaid play successful 2024, according to a connection from the nationalist library.

Both branches volition reopen April 21, it said.

Michelle Pharis, president of the Canadian Union for Public Employees Local 2669, said the room unit it represents privation to beryllium arsenic welcoming arsenic possible, but they're not trained to grip progressively unsafe situations happening successful immoderate libraries.

"The cause poisoning, the accrued incidents, the information that constabulary and exigency services who we number connected are stretched beyond thin, we cannot supply room services nether the conditions that are occurring successful this metropolis close now," Pharis said.

CUPE 2669 represents astir 260 Saskatoon library employees, not including janitorial and information employees.

Staff astatine the 2 branches are routinely stopping radical from utilizing oregon selling drugs, and are removing intoxicated radical from the buildings in enactment with bylaw requirements, Pharis said.

Hiring much unit could amended safety but wouldn't solve underlying problems, she added.

"Having much unit successful the room doesn't assistance that idiosyncratic close extracurricular the beforehand doorway who is successful an overdose situation, and we're calling the ambulance and they can't travel due to the fact that determination aren't capable of them," Pharis said.

The statement from the room said its unit can't supply "safe and effective" services successful the look of an summation successful homelessness and a spike successful overdose cases caused by a toxic cause proviso successful the city.

"Addressing the expanding fig of aesculapian emergencies and convulsive incidents successful the room is beyond our capacity," it said.

"Our employees look the challenging task of referring radical to assemblage services that are often unavailable oregon overcapacity owed to a deficiency of resources."

The library's connection said nary 1 with Saskatoon Public Library volition beryllium disposable for interviews connected this matter.

While the room said the impermanent closure will let for improved information measures and extra grooming for staff, Pharis thinks the provincial authorities needs to measurement up.

"The provincial authorities hasn't accrued room backing successful the past 3 budgets and … they took the backing distant for harm reduction," she said.

"I consciousness similar the provincial authorities has dropped the shot connected supporting people, and making it truthful that radical don't person to effort to scramble to find a spot to spell due to the fact that they person obscurity else."

In 2024, the Saskatchewan Party authorities ended fiscal enactment for harm simplification initiatives to alternatively absorption connected what it said are "recovery-oriented" approaches to addiction. In the lead-up to past year's provincial election, the Saskatchewan Party said it would proceed moving to unfastened 500 caller addiction attraction beds, 213 of which it said had already been announced oregon opened nether its government.

Last year, information issues led to reduced hours astatine 4 Saskatoon room branches, and unit went connected onslaught implicit wages and information issues. The caller declaration added wellness and information measures for employees, specified arsenic protections for unit moving alone.

Exacerbating the existent concern is this week's temporary closure of Prairie Harm Reduction's drop-in centre and supervised depletion site to springiness its staff clip to retrieve from a dense workload stemming from the overdose crisis.