Sask. needs 'to do more, faster' to address empty, damaged social housing units in Regina: auditor

The provincial auditor has sharply critiqued how Saskatchewan is handling its stock of provincially owned social housing units in the province's capital. 

In May, the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation owned approximately 3,000 units in Regina, of which 534 were vacant — a vacancy rate of 17.8 per cent, according to a report released by auditor Tara Clemett on Tuesday. Of the vacant units, 364 were out-of-service and needing repair.

At that same time, 404 households were waiting for social housing units, Clemett's report said.

"They definitely probably need to do more, faster," she said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The auditor's findings were published as part of her office's second volume of 2024 audits being filed with the provincial legislature Tuesday afternoon.

The full report examined the Ministry of Social Services' use of hotels, the timeliness of 911 call dispatching for fire or emergencies outside of Saskatoon and Regina, and foreign ownership of farmland.

Social housing in Regina

Among Clemett's findings on social housing were that over the past several years, Regina has had not only the province's largest number of vacant units, but also the highest vacancy rate as a percentage of housing corporation-owned units.

Clemett found the housing corporation does not regularly assess how long applicants to its social housing program wait to get placed in a social housing unit.

The corporation also doesn't assess what type of units are requested, and doesn't sufficiently track and analyze its vacant units or trends in demand to determine where it should focus repairs, her report said.

That may explain why the corporation's housing portfolio in Regina is classified as "poor" quality, according to the audit.

The mixture of units (for example, family or single units, or units for seniors) offered by the corporation has remained "relatively unchanged" since 2016 and no longer aligns with the current demand, Clemett said.

As an example, her report notes the housing corporation had more than 300 approved applicants for family/single units in Regina in May 2024, but only 56 units available.

Holding on to vacant units in Regina is also costly for the provincial government, she said.

"The government is paying $1.2 million to have nobody in those units overall," said Clemett.

"So should [the province] again spend money to get them repaired so that ultimately people can be living in these units?" 

Brent Blakley, the Saskatchewan NDP's social services critic, called on the government to track what units are needed and what units are available. 

"One of the things we need to do, I think, is just to get those Sask. Housing units open, get them renovated if they need renovations, and then have a better strategy to track that," said Blakley.

Terry Jensen, the Minister of Social Services, was not made available to media to answer questions about the auditor's report.

Hotel use of social services

Clemett also examined how the province procures hotel rooms for social services clients. Last year, the Opposition NDP said motels owned by then Saskatchewan Party MLA Gary Grewal raised the price on rooms once social services started footing the bill to house clients at those locations.

That prompted Clemett's office to examine the issue.

Documents released this year by the NDP show the Sunrise Motel and the Thriftlodge, two Regina motels Grewal had ownership stakes in, received a combined $384,178 from social services in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

Then social services minister Gene Makowsky defended the province's use of the hotels for immediate assistance for individuals or families in emergency situations, or for longer-term support for families and children in crisis.

The province's options are limited, because some hotels won't accept people on income assistance, he said.

Saskatchewan's conflict of interest commissioner eventually ruled that Grewal violated conflict of interest laws with the contracts between the hotels and the provincial government.

Grewal denied any wrongdoing and did not run in the fall provincial election.

WATCH | Conflict commissioner finds former Sask. Party MLA broke rules as motel owner: 

Conflict commissioner finds former Sask. Party MLA broke rules as motel owner

1 month ago

Duration 2:10

Saskatchewan's conflict of interest commissioner has ruled that outgoing Saskatchewan Party MLA Gary Grewal breached rules by owning motels that profited from government contracts.

In response to scrutiny, the Ministry of Social Services announced changes to its policy on procuring hotel rooms, as part of a a one-year pilot.

The first change requires three quotes from hotels before picking one, while another requires the ministry to enter into a formal contract with hotels in Saskatoon and Regina.

Clemett says before those changes were implemented in March 2024, the ministry did not "consider best value when procuring appropriate hotel rooms for its clients." 

That means the ministry "may not have been spending public money wisely," according to the auditor.

The changes under the one-year pilot also need to be improved, with the audit finding that the ministry does not centrally collect reliable data or conduct robust evaluation of whether the new programs helped the province improve its ability to procure hotel rooms. 

Foreign ownership of farmland purchases

The auditor also looked at foreign ownership of farmland in Saskatchewan, which is restricted to less than four hectares. 

The Farm Land Security Board is responsible for administering and enforcing that law. 

Clemett's report recommends the organization do a better job tracking and enforcing the rules, and says ensuring farmland is Canadian-owned can help keep prices low.

"Having foreign entities buying Saskatchewan farmland does increase the risk that we don't have Saskatchewan and Canadian residents that own that farmland — and it could be making prices higher than they should be," Clemett said.

Clemett's report found that in nine of the 18 farmland purchases her office audited, the board failed to request statutory ownership declarations for corporations not registered in Saskatchewan.

In eight instances, the board did not receive statutory declarations at all.

Corporations are allowed to ask for exemptions if they want more than the four hectares allowed under provincial law.

Clemett said 140 exemptions have been granted over the last five years and many of the larger exemptions were given to European companies.

"The board needs to enhance its processes," she said.

Clemett said the board needs to be more consistent in its requests and implement an escalation procedure.

That would help staff know what actions to take, such as whether to issue fines or penalties in the event of non-compliance.

Agriculture Minister Daryl Harrison told the assembly he welcomes the auditor's recommendations.

"There is always more room for improvement and the board will continue to focus on process improvement," he said.

"As indicated in the report, the audit did not find any confirmed instances of unauthorized foreign ownership."

The report states that since 2020, the board has five times

Clemett's audit also found that the board did not tell foreign entities to sell land or request an exemption to the regulations until two to six months after the sale was identified as not being in line with the province's regulations.

Clemett's latest audit report also looked at several other topics:

• Timely 911 call taking and dispatching for fire emergencies.
• SaskPower's transition to low- and non-emitting energy sources.
• Critical incident reporting to improve patient safety.
• Monitoring quality of care in homes supporting adults with intellectual disabilities.
• Several health-care followups, including diabetes-related health complications, analysis of surgical biopsies in Regina and Saskatoon, and efficient use of MRI machines in Regina.
• Concerns with implementing strong financial controls, complying with financial and governance-related legislative authorities, or preparing reliable financial statements at 10 agencies, including the Ministry of Highways, the Western Development Museum, the Northern Municipal Trust Account and provincial colleges.