Saskatoon Minute: Issue 62

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

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• On Tuesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a meeting of the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services.  The Committee will discuss the City’s Corporate Environmental Leadership Program. The City is launching this program to improve its internal environmental performance and align with its Strategic Plan goal of Environmental Leadership. While the community has made strong environmental progress, the City’s own operations have lagged or lacked consistent tracking. The program builds on earlier efforts like meeting new waste regulations and launching the Greener Together staff engagement initiative. A key element is the integration of the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) framework, which promotes environmental, social, economic, and governance considerations in decision-making. The TBL Project Improvement Tool will help staff apply a sustainability lens at key project stages, improving consistency and interdisciplinary planning. The program will include staff training, improved emissions and waste tracking, and the development of a new Environmental Management System. It is designed to “embed sustainability into daily operations” and “create a culture of environmental responsibility”. If you’re wondering why our taxes keep going up, here’s a clue!
  
  
• The Committee will also discuss reallocating more than $8 million in previously approved water treatment capital funds. Three existing projects, Low Lift Pumping, Sand Separator, and Clarifier Construction, will be closed, and their combined funds will be redirected to the Water Treatment Capital Development Expansion Plan. According to Administration, consolidating these funds will simplify project management and long-term financial planning under the broader Waterworks Program. This initiative is part of the Water Treatment Long Term Capital Strategy, which aims to guide capital upgrades over several years. The proposed adjustment does not involve any new funding and results in no net change to the City’s approved capital expenditures. If approved, Corporate Financial Services will formally close the three projects and reassign the funds.
  
  
• The Committee will receive the Saskatoon Fire Department’s 2024 Year in Review. The Saskatoon Fire Department (SFD) experienced an increase in incident responses in 2024, with 190 more calls than in 2023, reflecting growing demands due to population growth and challenges like homelessness and substance abuse. Emergency Medical Services calls rose to 11,976, with notable increases in assaults (27%) and “unknown problems” (34.7%). In April 2024, the SFD began a 3-year pilot of a 24-hour shift schedule, which has received positive feedback despite some logistical adjustments. Doug Wegren was appointed fire chief in May 2024, bringing new leadership to continue adapting the department to community needs. Also on the agenda is a report regarding the significant opioid poisoning crisis in early 2025. Overdose incidents more than doubled compared to the same period in 2024. From January 1st to May 21st, 2025, the SFD responded to 1,149 overdose calls, requiring extended emergency response times and additional staffing, including increasing minimum staffing levels and deploying two paramedics on key apparatus. In response to the crisis, the City activated its Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) in March, coordinating efforts with multiple community partners and provincial agencies through the Provincial Emergency Operation Centre (PEOC), which was activated for the first time for a City emergency. Key response measures included enhanced Naloxone distribution, data collection initiatives, and coordinated communication via a Joint Information Centre. Financial impacts include $145,000 in overtime costs and additional funding from the Saskatchewan Health Authority for paramedic support.
  
  
• On Tuesday, at 2:00 pm, the Standing Policy Committee on Transportation will meet. On the agenda is a discussion about whether or not to remove the 23rd Street protected bike lane in summer 2025. Installed as a demonstration project in 2015, the lane was never given permanent funding and has since degraded. Administration presented four options: leave the lane in place with minimal maintenance, invest in ongoing upkeep, replace it with semi-permanent materials, or remove it entirely. The recommended course of action is removal, given the lane’s poor condition and the need to shift resources to permanent infrastructure. The estimated cost of removal is $15,000, with funding available from an existing capital project. The City will also begin public engagement in fall 2025 on a new active transportation route along 19th Street.
  
  
• The Transportation Committee will also consider a revised transit fleet renewal plan following Saskatoon’s unsuccessful bid for federal zero-emission transit funding. Based on findings from a Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) study, the City is now proposing to purchase diesel buses for Saskatoon Transit and gas buses for Access Transit through 2030. The five-year plan outlines purchases of 60 fixed-route buses and 22 Access Transit buses between 2026 and 2030. This would bring the total to 90 fixed-route and 31 Access buses, with $113.2 million in investment. The City has already approved related borrowing and funding transfers. The plan’s success depends on securing exemptions from federal emission targets and adjustments to existing funding agreements. A new capital project will consolidate existing funds to better align with these goals. The CUTRIC plan will be reviewed again in five years to evaluate future options, including zero-emission technologies.
  
  
• Finally, there have been some budget shortfalls which the Transportation Committee will look at resolving. They will consider whether to reallocate funds to address a shortfall of $870,657.26 for the Highway 16 and 71st Street intersection upgrade project. The project, substantially completed in 2018, had been expected to receive funding from multiple partners, but not all contributions were secured. Administration is proposing to close the funding gap by reallocating $223,500 from the Idylwyld Drive and Circle Drive Interchange project, $55,000 from the Transportation Infrastructure Expansion Reserve, and $592,157.26 from the Traffic Safety Reserve. The latter is funded through speed and red-light camera enforcement revenue, which varies yearly and may limit funding for future projects. Administration notes that no approved capital projects will need to be cancelled or deferred. If the reallocation is approved, the project will be formally closed. Previous attempts to secure cost-sharing from Corman Park were unsuccessful following discussions in 2020.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

Who is your favourite Saskatoon City Councillor - and why?

Is it because of their voting record, how they engage with the community, or something else?

Take a moment to reply and share your thoughts with us.

Your feedback helps us understand which Councillors are truly representing the interests and values of Saskatoon residents.

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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