By Nigel Maxwell

MLA wants government to address homelessness in La Ronge

Apr 6, 2015 | 7:04 AM

A petition for a new homeless shelter in La Ronge currently has more than 1,500 signatures.

The petition was started by Cumberland MLA Doyle Vermette, who brought the issue up in the legislature last week.

“Losing one loved one from freezing because they have no place to go would be unacceptable and at the end of the day the government has to be held to account to say ‘here, you are well aware of the problem, we’ve shared it with you with our petition, so they can’t say they didn’t know about it should something happen,’” said Vermette.

Vermette said his ideal goal would be for a government representative to sit down with the community and discuss a plan. Vermette added that there’s room for the federal government to get involved as well.

“On reserve, off reserve, it doesn’t matter, it’s time to quit using that jurisdiction of no that’s federal/provincial. If the provincial government wants to do something on reserve, I know they can do it because they’ve done other things,” said Vermette.

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On Feb. 14, Vermette took part in a “sleep out,” a fundraiser to raise awareness about the issue. He and other community leaders camped out for 18 hours. They raised more than $13,000 for the local Scattered Sites Outreach Program, a program which helps care and provide shelter for the community’s less fortunate.

“There’s been a lot of great work done prior by family members, different organizations, different groups, but at the end of the day we have a government that has record revenue and has an obligation to do the right thing for Northern Saskatchewan,” said Vermette.

Vermette said he plans to continue lobbying the government. As well, he remains in close contact with Lac La Ronge Indian Band Chief Tammy Cook-Searson and community leaders in La Ronge.

nmaxwell@panow.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell

by Nigel Maxwell

MLA wants government to address homelessness in La Ronge

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