News Releases

Since nominations opened in July, all members of the community have been invited to submit names for the North Commuter Parkway Bridge that either acknowledge an Aboriginal historical event or figure, represent the spirit of community, coming together, or connection.

A series of public information sessions are being planned in October for citizens to get involved with naming the North Commuter Parkway Bridge.

“We’re striving to be inclusive and ensuring all Saskatoon citizens have an opportunity to get involved in the reconciliation process by nominating a name for the North Commuter Parkway Bridge.” says Harry Lafond, Executive Director, Office of the Treaty Commissioner.  “It’s essential First Nations, Métis and all members of our diverse community can see themselves represented in the naming of our shared public spaces, such as bridges, parks and streets.”

The community-led project responds to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #79: Participate in a strategy to commemorate Aboriginal People’s history and contributions to Canada.

“Naming the bridge shows our community’s commitment to answering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the process of reconciliation,” says Shirley Isbister, President of Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.  “Reconciliation is what is going to move Saskatoon forward by uniting our community and building positive and mutually beneficial relationships.”

Citizens can nominate online or in-person at a number of general public information sessions planned, including specific sessions targeting groups such as youth, seniors/old people and people living with disabilities.

For more details on how to nominate online and information sessions, visit Saskatoon.ca/namethencp.

All qualified names received through the naming project will be added to the master names list for use in naming future civic infrastructure.  The nomination period will be open until October 31st.

Under the City of Saskatoon’s Strategic Goal of Quality of Life, this project supports the recognition of our built, natural, and cultural heritage.  The naming of civic facilities celebrates the history, environment, and outstanding contributions of our diverse community.

Following the incident Monday at Dundonald Park, representatives of the City and Saskatoon Public School Division administrations met this afternoon to discuss safety reviews underway within each organization.

“We both agree that working together on the review of this tragedy and to come up with rationale and timely recommendations to increase safety in our community, is in everyone’s best interest,” says City Manager Murray Totland. 

The City and public school officials will compile a diverse team for the comprehensive review.

“Our school division has a valued partnership with the City of Saskatoon. We believe when it comes to the safety of children, a community response is necessary,” says Saskatoon Public School Division Director of Education, Barry MacDougall.

Additionally, the City and Saskatoon Public School Division agree to collaborate and reach out to the Office of the Chief Coroner and the Children’s Advocate to cooperate with those respective investigations.

Following continual review of several financial options, City Administration has estimated the most current property tax increase at 4.96%.

“As we’ve said all along, we’re focussed on exploring numerous strategies to find savings that will help minimize next year’s property taxes,” says Director of Finance Clae Hack.

The Governance and Priorities Committee will consider the 2018 Business Plan and Budget Update at its Monday, September 18 meeting.

Despite a $6.1 million reduction in provincial funding -- equivalent to a 2.77% property tax increase -- the Administration has continued to work towards minimizing the property tax impact for 2018. 

 “While we continue to face significant challenges as a result of the provincial funding decreases, we’ve heard through our public engagement that it’s very important to maintain our existing service levels throughout the City,” Hack says.

As the GPC report outlines, several changes have been made to the 2018 projected budget to arrive at the revised property tax estimate at 4.96% for 2018, some of which include:

• Repayment of sound wall borrowings over 10 years instead of 5 which has resulted in a decrease of $250,000 in expenditures.
• Removal of the $240,000 growth allocation to roadways preservation and maintenance as their annual targets will continue to be met without this due to favourable pricing.
• Decrease of $600,000 to the transfer to Reserve for Capital Expenditures (RCE) in order to reduce the reliance on the property tax.
• Adjustment of $200,000 to traffic fines and penalties based on refined estimates; this adjustment results in an overall decrease in revenue of $300,000 instead of the originally estimated $500,000.

The 2018 Preliminary Budget is currently estimated at $491.0 million which is a $13.3 million increase over 2017.

The next 2018 Business Plan and Budget Update will be the full presentation of the 2018 Preliminary Business Plan and Budget book to the Governance and Priorities Committee on October 16, 2017.

Find further details and related budget and finance documents at saskatoon.ca/budget.

The Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo’s resident Red Panda, Phoenix, will be leaving Saskatoon on Sunday, October 1, 2017.

“For the past three years, Phoenix has lived with us in the PotashCorp Ark Exhibit and his presence was enjoyed by visitors of all ages,” says Zoo Manager Tim Sinclair-Smith.

Sinclair-Smith adds, “Phoenix’s move is part of the Species Survival Plan (SSP) developed by the (American) Association of Zoos and Aquariums to help ensure the survival of selected species in zoos and aquariums, most of which are threatened or endangered in the wild.”

“The SSP plans to grow and develop a long-term program for red pandas, and Phoenix will play a key role in the continued development of the program.”

Recently, the red panda has been classified as Endangered because its population in the wild is estimated to be less than 10,000 and continues to decline due to habitat loss among other causes.

“We hope that one day red pandas will return to the Zoo, but for now our commitment is to the SSP and the important work it is doing to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse, and stable population for red pandas,” says Sinclair-Smith.

In celebration of Phoenix’s final days in Saskatoon, the Zoo Animal Care team will be on hand to answer questions at the PotashCorp Ark Exhibit throughout the month of September.

The Zoo is open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and the Forestry Farm Park gates are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

A special meeting of the Governance and Priorities Committee will be held on Wednesday, September 20, 2017, for City Council to hear an update on the Recreation & Parks Master Plan Long-Range Capital Plan.  The meeting will include presentations from community-based organizations interested in partnering with the City on capital initiatives.

In 2015, City Council approved the Recreation & Parks Master Plan to provide a framework for guiding the development, delivery and improvement of recreation and parks programs, services and facilities now and into the future.  It identified recommendations for implementation for the City and community over the next 15 years.

“The Master Plan was developed by a diverse team,” says Lynne Lacroix, Director of Recreation and Community Development.  “This included the City Administration and recreation experts, along with extensive community and stakeholder engagement.  The team heard from key agencies and sectors involved in and affected by recreation and parks services.”

The next step in the implementation of the Master Plan is to set priorities for long-range capital budget planning for recreation and parks facilities.  The goal will be to identify gaps and to formalize a process for setting priorities:  that is, what, when, and where to build or upgrade amenities.

“We’ve developed a game plan for prioritizing enhanced or new recreation and parks facilities.”

Lacroix says the plan focuses on three areas:

• maintenance of existing City-owned facilities;
• identifying new initiatives based on trends and partnership opportunities; and
• growth-related infrastructure in new areas of the city.

The game plan details annual capital expenditures and priorities related to recreation and parks infrastructure using the Master Plan tools and framework.  Once received by the Governance and Priorities Committee, this game plan, along with a proposed funding strategy, will proceed to City Council for debate in the budget proceedings later this year.

Please visit www.saskatoon.ca/recmasterplan for the highlights of the Recreation & Parks Master Plan, to view the plan in its entirety, and for more information on implementation.