Saskatoon Minute: Issue 117

Saskatoon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Saskatoon politics

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• City Council will meet on Wednesday at 9:30 am, and among the items on the agenda is a request to direct the City Solicitor to draft a new Saskatoon Transit bylaw aimed at improving safety for bus operators and passengers. The proposed bylaw would give officers authority to remove people from Transit property, or bar them from it, for "unacceptable behaviour", a term defined broadly to include any breach of a federal, provincial or City law and any conduct that threatens the comfort, safety or well-being of others. It would also let Transit issue temporary bans of up to 24 hours that cannot be appealed, along with longer bans that could be challenged before the Saskatoon Appeal Board, and it would create Transit-specific offences such as distracting an operator or putting feet on a seat, each carrying a $50 fine. The measure follows Council's decision to fund a new Transit Policing Program, with $600,000 allocated in 2026 and $1 million in 2027 for one sergeant, eight officers and two patrol cars phased in over two years. The committee that forwarded the recommendation amended it so that animals would be allowed on Transit only if kennelled, apart from service animals. The new bylaw would also fold in the existing transit fares rules and expand the City's spitting prohibition to cover Transit property.
  
  
• Also on Wednesday's agenda, Councillors will consider directing Administration to apply for up to $1.5 million from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund to help pay for streetscaping along Avenue B, Avenue D and 21st Street West in the Riversdale area. The federal program covers up to 50% of eligible costs and is tied to expanding the urban tree canopy, part of the City's goal of reaching 15% canopy coverage by 2060. The total value of the streetscaping project is $5.455 million, and if the application succeeds the related capital project would be increased by $1.5 million to reflect the new funding. The City's Parks Department already secured $1.11 million through the same tree-planting initiative, approved in January 2026. Council would also authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to sign the funding agreement if the bid is successful, and grant staff delegated authority to submit progress reports and financial claims. The streetscaping work is tied to planned water main replacements in the area.
  
  
• Another item before Council on Wednesday is a set of Administration-proposed changes to the City's multi-year business plan and budget policy. The current policy requires Council to approve an indicative property tax rate early in the budget cycle for staff to work within, but the changes would instead have that early report present only an estimate and forecast as information, leaving any tax target to later deliberations in November or December rather than prescribing one in policy. The revisions would also remove the 10% limit on budget contingency for capital projects, with Administration arguing that current construction market volatility makes a fixed cap unrealistic and that project managers should set contingency case by case. A further change would loosen the rules on how long the City can keep employees in temporary positions. The package also reflects the earlier removal of the requirement for the Climate Budget to include greenhouse gas additions, a step tied to Council's decision not to proceed with priority-based budgeting. Administration says the update is meant to modernize the policy based on lessons from past budget cycles.
  
  
• The provincial government is asking the City of Saskatoon to keep its temporary downtown emergency shelter open for an extra 8 months, past the end of its original 18-month lease. The 40-bed shelter at 210 Pacific Avenue is funded by the Province and run under contract by Alberta-based The Mustard Seed, and it was approved to operate only until September 30th of this year. The Province wants the extension to allow time to finish a permanent $6-million, 60-bed shelter at 170 31st Street East, behind the Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre, with construction expected to wrap in spring 2027. Ward 6 Councillor Jasmin Parker said she has driven past the new site and has not seen any construction yet, calling it disappointing that the project has not moved as quickly as hoped. A report going to Council on June 24th notes that not extending the agreement would mean losing 40 shelter spaces until the permanent facility opens, and it also recommends extending the property tax exemption on the Pacific Avenue site by eight months. A 2025 count recorded 1,931 people experiencing homelessness in Saskatoon, a figure that has risen for several straight years.
  
  
• The City of Saskatoon is asking City Council for permission to enter direct negotiations with Muskeg Lake Cree Nation on a possible partnership to develop the planned downtown event and entertainment district. The recommendation would authorize Mayor Cynthia Block to sign a non-binding memorandum of understanding to explore the partnership, which Administration describes as a "strategic partnership" intended to benefit both Saskatoon residents and the First Nation. Early discussions have raised the prospect of an operating partnership and of establishing land in the district as new urban reserves, building on the urban reserve Muskeg Lake Cree Nation first created in Saskatoon in 1988. The district is planned to combine a new event centre, an expanded convention centre and theatre, public spaces and the city's new bus rapid transit line. The move comes after Council earlier this year rejected a proposal to have American hospitality firm Oak View Group 360 manage the future arena. If approved, a signing ceremony would follow in the coming weeks, with Administration reporting back to Council every two months on the negotiations.

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