Saskatoon Minute: Issue 98

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

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• On Wednesday, at 9:30 am, the Governance and Priorities Committee will meet. On the agenda is a review of Council’s car allowance. In 2025, Saskatoon City Council spent $12,896 of the $15,000 budgeted on car allowances for Councillors using their personal vehicles for City business. Individual Councillor expenditures varied, with the highest reported by Councillor Dubois at $4,135.26 but three Councillors reporting no expenses. The Mayor’s car allowance totalled $2,857.34. The City sets reimbursement rates based on the Canada Revenue Agency’s 2025 rates of $0.72 per kilometre for the first 5,000 km and $0.66 per km thereafter. The report will be posted publicly for transparency.
  
  
• At the Committee Meeting, Councillor MacDonald will bring forward a Notice of Motion requesting a review of Advisory Committee budgets. The motion notes that Saskatoon has five Advisory Committees - DEIAC (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Committee), MHAC (Municipal Heritage Advisory Committee), PAAC (Public Art Advisory Committee), SAAC (Saskatoon Accessibility Advisory Committee), and SEAC (Saskatoon Environmental Advisory Committee - each with its own mandate and terms of reference, but with discretionary budgets that currently lack consistent rules. The motion asks Administration to report to the Governance and Priorities Committee on all spending by these committees from 2023-2025, including total annual expenditures, categories of spending, related reports, and alignment with committee mandates. It also requests options to improve oversight, such as clearer spending parameters, approval requirements, standardized reporting, and potential elimination of discretionary funds where administrative budgets already cover committee activities, to prevent duplication or unnecessary expenditures.
  
  
• The Saskatoon Paramedic Association has voted in favour of a strike mandate following an impasse in contract negotiations and mediation. The union, which has been without a contract since March 2024, cites significant recruitment and retention challenges as primary drivers for the action. Association President Russell Grant reports that staff are frequently leaving for allied services or exiting the industry entirely due to burnout and high rates of mental and physical health leaves. Despite the mandate, no specific timeline for job action has been established, and day-to-day operations remain unchanged. 
  
  
• The St. Mary’s Wellness and Education Centre is seeking to lease 1.061 acres of adjacent Grace Adam Metawewinihk Park to install a fenced, enclosed playground and basketball court, citing safety concerns from hazardous activity around the property. Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools (GSCS) would cover construction and fencing costs, while the City would remove a small hill for roughly $8,000. Some Councillors raised concerns about bypassing typical processes, the precedent it may set, and whether provincial or other partners should help cover costs. GSCS has offered cost-sharing measures, support for a school resource officer, and public use of the land after hours. City staff noted the hill posed safety risks as people could hide behind it, and operational costs would be borne by the school long-term. 
  
  
• The City has deferred plans to reconstruct Millar Avenue between 43rd Street and Marquis Drive and the Millar Avenue/51st Street intersection after receiving mixed feedback from the community. The $6.24 million project aimed to improve safety, pedestrian accessibility, and traffic flow, including new crosswalks, medians to restrict left turns into businesses, and shared-use pathways. While some residents and organizations like Saskatoon Cycles supported full reconstruction, many local business owners expressed strong opposition, citing potential loss of parking, disrupted delivery access, and negative impacts on revenue. Councillors raised concerns about balancing safety improvements with business interests, and options like relocating driveways and making targeted active transportation improvements were suggested as less disruptive alternatives. City Administration indicated that land could be expropriated if necessary, but some Councillors and the Mayor supported deferring the project until business concerns are fully addressed. 

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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