Saskatoon Minute: Issue 70

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

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• On Wednesday, at 9:30 am, there will be a City Council meeting. Council will vote on whether to proceed with a $900,000 application to the federal Code Acceleration Fund. If approved, the project would support the City’s shift to higher energy efficiency standards by funding a Net Zero Roadmap, training programs, and best practice guides. The project aligns with previous Council decisions to adopt Tier 2 of the national energy code. A second application from the Saskatoon & Region Home Builders Association will run in parallel, focused on industry training. Both applications are supported by letters from one another. If funding is secured, two temporary staff would be hired and work would be completed by March 2027. The City’s goal is to build industry capacity and explore a path toward net-zero building codes.
  
  
• Also, City Council will consider approving major incentive support for two affordable housing projects on City-owned land. The first project, located on 25th Street East, would see the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation develop 60 new supportive housing units with integrated services and a warming and cooling centre. The second, located at 2401 Broadway Avenue, proposes 25 affordable rental units. If approved, both developments would receive five-year municipal and library tax abatements totalling an estimated $674,500. The City will also apply for a provincial education tax exemption for the larger project. The 25th Street project is already zoned appropriately, but the Broadway Avenue site will require rezoning, with a Public Hearing expected later this year. Both projects are supported through the Housing Accelerator Fund.
  
  
• Council will revisit the issue of the pedestrian overpass on College Drive as part of the broader College Drive Link project. While Council had previously approved the project’s concept plan, the overpass between Cumberland Avenue and Campus Drive/Field House Road was excluded pending further review. An accessibility audit revealed the current structure is not compliant with modern accessibility standards and cannot be economically retrofitted. Four options were explored, ranging from minor upgrades to full replacement, but only a new accessible structure would fully address the accessibility concerns - and even then, only temporarily, pending upcoming federal standards. Due to cost, space constraints, and alignment with accessibility goals, City staff recommend replacing the overpass with an at grade signalized pedestrian crossing. Public engagement showed mixed reactions, with some supporting the change and others worried about impacts to traffic. Any alternatives involving full reconstruction would require additional land negotiations with the University of Saskatchewan.
  
  
• An 11-day enforcement blitz by Saskatoon police resulted in 176 arrests and 183 new charges, as officers targeted areas with high criminal activity. The initiative, part of a broader city-wide safety plan, ran from June 10th to 21st and generated 643 calls for service. Officers also executed 220 outstanding warrants and seized drugs, cash, and weapons. Among the items recovered were cocaine, meth, fentanyl, other drugs, $6,085 in cash, and over 45 weapons including firearms, knives, bear spray, and blunt weapons. Police Chief Cameron McBride said the results show how strategic deployments of resources can reduce violent crime. The project emphasized both community engagement and targeted enforcement.
  
  
• The City of Saskatoon, in partnership with Police, Fire, and Wilfrid Laurier University, has received $200,000 in federal funding to develop a first-of-its-kind data-sharing framework. The three-year project, supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, aims to improve how services respond to community safety and homelessness by enabling more coordinated, evidence-based planning. Deputy Fire Chief Yvonne Raymer noted that service providers often support the same individuals, but data restrictions can hinder collaboration. Deputy Police Chief Darren Pringle added that better coordination could reduce duplication and lead to more sustainable solutions. The secure, de-identified data will be hosted at Wilfrid Laurier’s Centre for Research on Security Practices. The initiative expands existing cooperation between civic agencies that began in 2022. Officials believe the framework could serve as a model for municipalities across Canada.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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