'It's 2019': Saskatoon Tribal Council chief decries opposition to approved west-end preschool

Saskatoon city councillors uniformly approved a west-end preschool planned by the Saskatoon Tribal Council — but not before some tough conversations at city hall Monday night.

"It's 2019 and I think we really gotta work on reconciliation," said tribal council Chief Mark Arcand to a nearly-packed house.

"It's unfortunate that I stand here tonight and really have to defend what we're doing when everybody should be really supporting an education process for any child."

The preschool, slated for a house and spacious backyard on 11th Street West, in the city's Montgomery Place neighbourhood, is partly meant to teach Indigenous pupils about their culture and language.

In contrast to the residential school system, said Arcand.

"At 48 years old, I can barely speak my own language because of systems like that," he said.

The project drew 36 letters or notices to the city. Three were in support of the preschool, while the rest expressed concerns about everything from increased traffic to declining property values.

One letter, written by Montgomery Place residents Lee and Cecile Gudmundson, asked that city councilors not be swayed by "a perceived need for social engineering."

"I really believe they're being as diligent as they can," area resident Marilyn Poitras said of the Montgomery Place Community Association, "but this is actually falling in the category of racism and racial tension."

'I want to welcome the children'

Poitras, who identified as a French Cree/Irish person, lives in the neighbourhood with her Cree husband and son. She said the area, known for its concentration of war veterans, includes Indigenous veterans, too.  

"I want to welcome the children and I want to say that this is really, really uncomfortable, and that's how reconciliation feels," said Poitras, later adding, "It's the people who are negative about [the preschool] that are going to be the most vocal."

Only one opponent rose to speak Monday night.

While applauding the tribal council for its program, Jim McAllister wondered how safe 11th Street, as a truck route, would be for the students and staff.  

"Coming in and out, many times a day, is going to increase the possibility of accidents happening on that place," said McAllister.

But according to McAllister, "the main reason" residents were opposed to the project — a reason that was absent from the city's list of "the main concerns raised" in letters and public meetings — lay elsewhere.

"We don't want to lose a home," said McAllister. "This is going to be somebody's home that's going to be turned into an institutional or commercial enterprise. In our neighbourhood, we have many, many second generation families."

Complaints about the process 

McAllister complained about an October 2018 public meeting on the project. The sound system was inadequate for the approximately 100 people there, he said, and the tribal council gave inconsistent answers on the question of how many students the school would house. (Up to 35 children at any one time, according to the city.)

Arcand apologized to the residents of Montgomery Place, saying of the meeting, "I should have been there."

"We may have dropped the ball as our staff, not just the city. I think we all have to work together," he added.

Before calling for the vote, Mayor Charlie Clark said, "We could have started off in a way that created more opportunity for dialogue, more opportunity for clarity, more chance for things to be worked out through and within the neighbourhood as opposed to within the media and in other ways.

"We need to learn from these types of situations."

The preschool still needs its development permit and other approvals before opening its doors to students.

"We'll follow every rule, every expectation that's put out there, to make this viable," said Arcand.