The federal budget is out! Promising $1.5 billion for maintaining our current affordable housing stock, $2.8 billion for Indigenous housing, and $1 billion for transitional and supportive housing.

As we wait for the federal budget to be released, here's a reminder that we could have both well-funded public services and a healthy economy. Our government would have billions more dollars for improving our public services if they closed Canada's tax haven loopholes. ricochet.media/labour/class...

This fall, @bcpolicy.bsky.social published a new report on racial inequality in Canada's housing market.

Poverty isn't just a social issue; it's also an economic issue. Ending poverty will strengthen our communities and our economy.

If you're struggling to afford daily necessities, you are not alone. The high concentration of wealth is not an individual failure; it's a policy failure.

The City of Saskatoon's 2025 Housing Report shared that these populations are most likely to live in housing that needs major repairs, costs more than they can afford, or is too small for the number of inhabitants.

Protecting children and youth means better meeting the needs of entire families and communities. The mission to end cycles of childhood trauma and abuse is interconnected with ending the cycles of poverty, problematic substance use, child removal, and homelessness.

Food for thought 💸

A decade after the TRC, the gov't has only completed 15/95 Calls to Action. However, researchers found that when more public attention is focused on reconciliation (ex. directly after the discovery of unmarked graves), the gov't addresses more of the Calls to Action. thewalrus.ca/trc-introduc...

“Sometimes I feel that this is the best chance we get at a better life." Thank you to Brody Langager and Michelle Berg from the Star Phoenix for helping us to spread the word about our initiatives. thestarphoenix.com/news/local-n...

The photo that accompanies this article was taken here in Saskatchewan — people have been falling through the cracks of our disaster response systems (and our regular systems) for years. policyoptions.irpp.org/2025/09/clim...

When workers are underpaid and housing is overpriced, someone is profiting. Our elected leaders are allowing corporations and the wealthy to profit off of raising the cost of necessities like food/housing and paying workers exploitatively low wages.

Through our employment program we speak to many people, primarily women and other gender minorities, who have dreams of further education or fulfilling employment but can only work limited hours in fields with low pay because they don't have access to childcare.

In a recent op-ed, Canadian economists and housing experts call on the federal government to invest in more informed, collaborative solutions to the housing crisis. archive.ph/GzTnU #housing #canada #canpoli

You can read the full letter BC housing experts sent to the federal government here: thetyee.ca/Opinion/2025...

1976: Average home price in Canada : $263,000. Average wage for Canadians ages 25-34: $68,500. 2024 update: Average home price in Canada : $690,000. Average wage for Canadians ages 25-34: $67,200. Check data for your province or city: www.gensqueeze.ca/straddling_t... #cdnpoli

We cannot end gender-based violence without confronting the ways in which our economic systems allow it to continue. While unaffordability skyrockets, more vulnerable people stay in violent situations because freedom is financially impossible. perspectivesjournal.ca/economic-lib...

In Canada, low to modest income families spend 94.6% of their wages on immediate needs. Whereas, the highest income Canadians spend only 55.7% of their income on immediate needs. To learn more about what can be done to address economic inequality, read the full @policyalternatives.ca article below.

There are viable alternatives to capitalism. Cooperative and participatory economics emphasize democratic decision-making, self-management, and social ownership for the common good. The profit motive is left behind in favor of a society where wealth is shared and no one is left behind.

Among other countries that boast high GDPs and high standards of living, Canada has fallen far behind in social housing. According to CMHC, only 13% of our social housing stock was constructed by governments within the past 30 years.

If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention 💸

This is a great read if you are looking to gain insight on what our federal leaders could be doing to promote social and affordable housing and halt the housing crisis 🏠 spacing.ca/toronto/2025...

This is a great resource for people to get help with voting and for service providers to have on hand. Thank you to @dianacmcnally.bsky.social for taking the time to create this ❤️ To distribute physical copies in your community or workplace, access the PDF here: drive.google.com/file/d/1ioJM...

A bit of info about the work Quint does with our two social enterprises, Build Up Saskatoon and Saskatoon Wellbeing Employment Enterprise Program (SWEEP) 🚧

Last week, a few of our staff members headed to Winnipeg for the Construction Social Enterprise Summit! Thank you to BUILD Winnipeg for bringing us together to share our experiences, explore new approaches, and dream big for the future.

We must urge our federal government to address the critical lack of social, supportive, and affordable housing options in our country.

We all have a responsibility to vote and advocate with the most vulnerable among us in mind. We also invite you to consider your responsibilities as a community member, neighbour, or friend. How can you reduce material barriers for single individuals or single parent families around you?

Last year it was a 3% increase, this year it’s even lower. What is the purpose of a social assistance program that doesn’t keep up with the rising cost of rent and essentials? A $20/month increase will not address this illogical gap.

The Canadian economy isn’t built to benefit all. Our political leaders have enabled decades of worsening economic inequality and they have the power to stop it.  Thank you to @c4tf.bsky.social for compiling this data.

This January, 80 new community members registered with our Core Neighbourhoods at Work program to get one-on-one employment support. More and more each year, we're finding that they need wraparound support instead.

This article highlights personal stories from our tenants and outlines how Quint's affordable housing program has evolved as needs become more complex, systems of support weaken, and the lack of affordable housing becomes more dire. thestarphoenix.com/feature/a-ho...

One of our longtime Build Up Saskatoon crew members, Warren, recently shared his personal story with CBC Saskatchewan to give them an idea of exactly what it takes to keep someone housed and employed. You can listen to the full episode at this link: www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...

Inclusion Canada estimates that 73% of Canadians with an intellectual disability (who aren't living with family) live in poverty. The Canadian Human Rights Commission also reports that 1 in every 25 people with a disability experiences homelessness, compared to 1 in 100 for people w/o disabilities.

We need more social housing and nonprofit affordable housing. The priority should be keeping people housed, not profiting off of housing. #housing #homelessness #saskatchewan #canada #saskatoon #skpoli

This month, the City of Saskatoon published the results from their annual resident survey. To us, they are a reminder that most people are united in their concern for our communities. The difficult step is getting more people on board with proven, just solutions to our shared crises 💭

In 2025, if you want to provide nonprofit affordable housing, you also have to provide advocacy and system navigation. The social safety net is dangerously thin and too many people are falling through the gaps. It doesn’t have to be this way.

We need more social housing and nonprofit affordable housing. The priority should be keeping people housed, not profiting off of housing. #housing #homelessness #saskatchewan #canada #saskatoon #skpoli

New from @policyalternatives.bsky.social Attendance at #Saskatchewan libraries in 2023 was higher than most major sports events. Why don't these public services get the same love as stadiums? @simonenoch.bsky.social www.policyalternatives.ca/news-researc...

Most one-bedroom apartments in Saskatoon's lowest-income neighbourhoods are more than $850/month (utilities not included). People on Saskatchewan Income Support can't afford even the low-end of market-rate rentals and all of our social housing and nonprofit affordable housing is full.

In the 1970s, non-market housing represented 25% of all new construction. Since then, government funding has declined to the point where non-market housing represents under 6% of Canada’s total existing housing stock, while market housing represents 95%.

There is power in the people! We just need to get together to use it 🤝 #housing #canada #tenantrights

"Every day, people are dying on social-housing waitlists, denied the stability that makes health and well-being possible. The solution is clear, and so is the cost of inaction. The question is, which will we choose to pay for?" www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Of all the kids in the child ‘welfare’ system in Canada, 53.7% are Indigenous children despite being only 7.7% of the total number of children in Canada. In Manitoba, Indigenous kids are 90% of all children in child welfare. In Alberta it’s 70%.

"As long as we encourage using housing as an investment opportunity, rents will continue to climb." Thank you @ricochetmedia.bsky.social. Significant policy changes are needed if we truly want increased affordability in Canadian housing. #skpoli #housing #saskatoon

April ChiefCalf is up and says the gov't is wasting $1.2M on vacant housing in Regina alone. The crisis of unhoused people is affecting communities across the province, and the province is letting these building remain vacant while people wait. How many people are on a wait-list today? #skpoli

Communities with better resources and more pathways to fulfillment have less criminal activity. Vandalism, vehicle break-ins, gang violence etc. are symptoms of larger social issues.

Who benefits from the “housing crisis?” Private corporations + wealthier individuals use housing as an investment opportunity, funnelling $$ away from regular people who are increasingly priced out of renting a suitable home, let alone owning one.

One of the longterm tenants in our Affordable Housing Program, Joan Okemow, was featured in an article about grandmothers raising multiple generations of their family. We see this everywhere in our communities.

If you’re concerned about increased crime, widespread substance use, or the divisions being created in our communities, you are concerned about income inequality and the injustices of an economic system that leaves so many of us behind.

Let’s get the facts straight on why encampments are multiplying and what it will take to address the homelessness crisis. #housing #skpoli #saskatchewan