Tim Johnson

3/1/2021

Environmental Scan for Catholic Family Services Regina

1. Broad External Trends:

• The current population of Regina is 254,061 (Canada Population 2021).

• Unemployment in the city of Regina went from 6.3% to 9.3% between December and August of 2020
(Statistics Canada 2020).

• According to the most recent census data collected in 2016, 13,150 people or 5.7% Regina residents
self-identified as First Nations (Census of Canada 2016). There were 112,490 immigrants in
Saskatchewan in 2016 compared with 48,160 for 2006 for an increase of 64,330 (Census of Canada
2016). The largest visible minority population (VMP) in Regina is South Asian, which makes up roughly
31% cent of the total VMP. The second largest visible minority groups are Filipino and Black. Roughly
98% of Regina residents speak English as their first language (Census of Canada 2016).

• As many as 39.1% of Canadian workers were teleworking during the last full week of March (Statistics
Canada 2020). Capacity for telework significantly varies across industries; roughly 85% of jobs in finance
and insurance, educational services, and of professional scientific and technical services can be
performed from home. Jobs in accommodation, food services, agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting
have almost no telework capacity (Statistics Canada 2020).

• The Government of Saskatchewan declared a provincial State of Emergency on March 18, 2020, which
has given the government wide authority to address the COVID-19 pandemic (Saskatchewan.ca 2020).

• All organizations must abide by the rules outlined by the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan if permitted to
continue operating. A provincially mandated mask order will be in place for the foreseeable future.

• As of February 26, there were 457 active cases of COVID-19 and a total of 5,421 do-date in Regina. In
Saskatchewan, 372 deaths have been caused by COVID-19. There have been 57, 824 doses of COVID-19
vaccines distributed in Saskatchewan (Ellis 2021). It is important to note that this number does not
represent total amount of residents vaccinated as both Pfizer and Moderna require two doses.

• Black Lives Matter and protests of last summer have brought on a social reckoning as it were on the
issue of racism. The Me Too movement has changed how the world thinks about sexism and sexist
power dynamics in organizations.

• Mental health awareness is increasingly high on the agendas of organizations partially due to remote
work.

• Climate change awareness and acceptance of a need for widespread coordinated action are
increasingly mainstream. The role of fossil fuels in the future or energy remains an ideologically divisive
issue.

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 2. External Trends Unique to Community Association:

• Crystal meth usage has been steadily increasing in Regina. Crystal meth is highly addictive, causes
serious permanent brain damage, compromises judgment, and can lead to erratic, paranoid, and
aggressive behaviour (Shepherd 2019).

• Regina Police report that there are five urban gangs within Regina. These are the Native Syndicate,
Indian Posse, Crips, Saskatchewan Warriors, and Redd Alert (Department of Justice 2015). Native
Syndicate is the largest gang and is made up of approximately 200 members, ranging in age from 17 to
35 years. Gang activity is commonly associated with drug trafficking and violence. (Department of
Justice 2015)

• According to Saskatchewan's Ministry of Health's Public Health Order Face Coverings, “All persons
shall wear a face covering that covers the nose and mouth when in the following enclosed settings:
Addiction treatment centers, complex care centers, health centers, hospitals, mental health centers,
residential treatment centers or special-care homes designated pursuant to The Provincial Health
Authority Act.” (Government of Saskatchewan 2021)

• The Trudeau government views social impact bonds favourably. Social impact bonds will likely take on
a larger role in the way the federal government finances nonprofits through private partnerships (Press
2018).

• Housing is a challenge that many of CFS's clients continue to face. Barriers to housing include mental
health, addictions, poverty, racism, and systemic barriers. The value of real estate prices have increased
dramatically across the country in recent years.

• COVID-19 has led to fewer marriage ceremonies.

• Listening to client voices in the community steadily confirms that some members of Indigenous
communities still distrust anything labelled “Catholic.”

• Non-religious stakeholders and potential financial partners are often reluctant to associate with
religious organizations.

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is always growing and adding new federal
programs to: facilitate the arrival of immigrants, protect refugees, and offer programming to help
newcomers settle in Canada.

3. Internal Trends:

• COVID-19 is exposing areas in CFS policy that lack sufficient procedural guidance.

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• COVID-19 has increased work related stress for employees and led to “COVID fatigue.” COVID-19 has
increased demands for employee time-off. The disease has also been contracted by staff including
senior members of the organization.

• Walk-in counselling has been back-logged due to high demand and limited counsellors. The clinic is
often full first thing in the morning requiring clients to reserve time for the next day. The high demand
for mental health, addiction, young parent, and family counselling has been exacerbated by COVID-19.

• Increased partnership with IRCC to deliver newcomer services is leading to greater organizational
emphasis on career training-opportunities and family counselling for immigrants.

• Governing questioning of what is meant by “ownership” in a non-profit model persists within CFS
board discussions. This relates to ongoing questions of the role of Catholicism in the organization's
identity.

• Partnership with the Ministry of Social Sevices (MSS) remains in a good place. MSS currently supports
CFS's counselling, young parent, family support, family reunification, and leadership services.

• Evaluation of services' success continues to rely on qualitative-anecdotal evidence and quantitative

data to assess service appreciation and outreach. CFS's financial stability continues to rely on client fees
for a small percentage of revenue with grants representing the largest and most reliable portion of
revenue.

• Retaining high quality counsellors has been a consistent challenge for CFS with an ever-increasing
market value for good counsellors.

4. Analysis:

• The prevalence of gangs in Regina creates:

o Safety challenges for counselling services offered at client's houses and at CFS Regina
o Street drug availability and increased drug usage in the surrounding community
o Need for addiction counselling and youth mentoring

• Treating substance dependency and abuse, including methamphetamine, will continue to be a priority
for CFS. Given crystal meth’s potential to lead to dangerous behaviour, offering meth addiction
counselling presents ongoing challenges for risk-assessment.

• Increasing unemployment under lockdown implies:

o Potentially greater client base seeking career training.

o CFS might increasingly be asked to deliver career specific training relevant to sectors capable of
telework
o An increase in mental health issues arising from unemployment.

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• COVID-19:

o Has presented serious challenges at senior staffing positions.

o Exposes holes in the existing policy.
o Exacerbates pre-existing counsellor retention challenges.
o Demands rigorous following of health mandates.

• Increasing partnership with IRCC has led to changing staffing demands. IRCC partnership is proving to
be a reliable source of revenue. This trend is also presenting new opportunities for collaboration that
require cost/benefit assessment of new programs requiring administrative oversight. IRCC also assists
with building costs based on percentage of organization’s services that fall under IRCC.

• Distrust toward “Catholic” services will continue to present outreach and reconciliation challenges
when trying to provide service to Indigenous peoples in need. Given proportionately high substance and
domestic abuse in these communities, the Catholic affiliation of the organization continues to raise
cost/benefit questions.

• Fewer marriages has led to a decrease in clients seeking out marriage preparation with CFS.

• Increased public awareness of systemic racism, sexism, employee well-being, and climate change
requires iterative reflection on CFS's practices.

5. Synopsis:

• CFS must continue to offer quality services in partnership with the MSS. This requires maintaining
quality and accountable administration. As it stands, partnership with MSS is in a very good place. CFS is
a trusted and reliable partner with many contacts within the ministry.

• Knowledge of operative gangs based on geography and gang signage must be an ongoing learning
priority as it pertains to safety of counselling in client's houses. Counsellors should never do house calls
alone and always make sure their cell phone is functioning.

• Counsellors with specific training or experience with crystal meth addiction should be seen as an asset.

• The issue of what constitutes “ownership” needs to continue to be asked for purposes of policy clarity
and utility of Catholic name. Clarity with the issue of religious affiliation would simplify the
organization's identity going forward. However, the organization is still currently in a great place with
both religious and non-religious stakeholders. Testimony and word of mouth have proven to be effective
means of building trust with minority and Indigenous communities.

• Solutions should be sought to enable retention and greater staffing of qualified counsellors. Market
supplements should be considered when pay-grades reach their ceilings.

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• IRCC is proportionately becoming a key partner and source of revenue so should be prioritized
accordingly. Newcomer services are crucial for immigrants to adjust to life in Regina; CFS should
continue to pay attention to immigration demographics to deliver effective and valued service.

• Given the relatively low revenue brought in by marriage preparation and the likelihood of marriage
rates going back up post mass vaccinations, the temporary dip in marriage preparation is not a serious
concern.

References:

Canada Population. (2021). Regina Population 2021. https://www.canadapopulation.net/regina-

population/

Department of Justice. (2015). The Nature of Canadian Urban Gangs and their use of Firearms: A Review
of the Literature and Police Survey. Government of Canada. https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-
pr/csj-sjc/crime/rr07_1/p3.html

Deng, Zechuan, Morisette, Rene, and Messacar, Derek. (2020). Running the economy remotely: Potential
for working from home during and after COVID-19. Statistics Canada.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/45-28-0001/2020001/article/00026-eng.htm

Ellis, Brandon. (2021). 3 COVID-19 deaths, 193 new cases reported in Sask. CTV News Regina.
https://regina.ctvnews.ca/3-covid-19-deaths-193-new-cases-reported-in-sask-1.5317419

Shepherd, Andrew. (2019). Crystal meth: Saskatchewan’s crime stimulant. Regina / 980 CJME.
https://www.cjme.com/2019/07/29/540300/

Statistics Canada. (2021). Labour force characteristics by census metropolitan area, three-month moving
average, seasonally adjusted and unadjusted, last 5 months, inactive. Statistics Canada.
https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/tv.action?pid=1410029401

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