News Releases

The City of Saskatoon has been announced today as one of ‘Canada’s Best Diversity Employers’ by the editors of Canada’s Top 100 Employers at Mediacorp Canada Inc.

This competition recognizes employers across Canada that have exceptional workplace diversity and inclusiveness programs.

“We are proud to receive this award for the seventh consecutive year, and will continue to place a high priority on creating a workplace for our employees that is positive, inclusive and embraces diverse backgrounds,” says Dan Willems, Acting General Manager of Corporate Performance.

Willems says, “Some examples of recent initiatives include partnering with community organizations such as OUT Saskatoon and the Learning Disabilities Association of Saskatoon to improve staff training and awareness.”

The City was also commended for its work relating to reconciliation initiatives, such as the introduction of mandatory Aboriginal Awareness training for all staff.

Canada’s Best Diversity Employers for 2018 are outlined in the March 2, 2018 edition of The Globe and Mail, as well as on Canada's Best Diversity Employers website.

The City has a long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion including being an equity partner with the Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission. 

As an equity partner, the City commits to the basic principles and objectives which outline a larger responsibility to foster an inclusive society. 

The City is permanently repairing potholes earlier than usual using the new infrared road repair equipment introduced in the fall. The equipment is being put to the test with its first winter repairs this week as daytime temperatures are expected to warm up.

“Through winter, we repair potholes with a cold mix asphalt that isn’t as durable as the hot material available to us through spring and summer,” says Brandon Harris, Director of Roadways & Operations. “The infrared technology generates new hot asphalt using recycled pavement recovered from old, failed road surfaces and is effective when temperatures are above -10C.”

At this time of year melting snow gets into cracks and seams, weakening the road as it freezes and thaws on a daily basis. Pothole occurrences are typically at their highest between March and April, which is a challenge to manage without access to hot mix asphalt.

“If we can properly repair the cracks and seams with hot asphalt before the snow melts, high traffic streets should remain strong and smooth through spring,” says Harris.

The City purchased one machine for a pilot study to extend the permanent pothole repair season when hot asphalt is not available. If this pilot study is successful, three more infrared pothole patchers will be added to the fleet.

Visit saskatoon.ca/betterroads to Report-a-Pothole and find information about road maintenance programs or call the 24-hour customer service centre at 306-975-2476 to report an emergency location.

Two mobs of meerkats are getting ready to travel to their new permanent home at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Zoo).  The meerkat families are packing their tiny suitcases and getting ready to take over the space formerly occupied by the Komodo dragons.  The new exhibit will officially open to the public on Sunday, April 1, 2018.

“The addition of the meerkats provides a great opportunity for us to bring some exciting new animals to Saskatoon, allowing visitors of all ages to meet meerkats, potentially for the first time.  This is a great way to enhance our learning opportunities at the Zoo,” says Tim Sinclair-Smith, Zoo Manager.

Meerkats are very active and sociable animals that live in groups knowns as mobs.  The average mob size is around 10 to 15 individuals and may consist of up to three families living together.  Meerkats have gray and brown coloured coats of fur with dark patches around their eyes.  They also have powerful claws for digging and their pointed snouts help them to excavate prey from narrow trenches.  Meerkats are native to southern Africa, including South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.  They typically live in dry, open plains, savannas, and grasslands.

Sinclair-Smith says, “Besides being irresistibly cute, two of the meerkats have been trained for interactive presentations and we are looking forward to bringing this unique type of educational programming to Saskatoon.”

The Zoo is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. until the end of April, and from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. starting in May.  Additional information regarding the Zoo can be found at saskatoon.ca/zoo.

After a number of unexpected budget challenges last year, the City’s preliminary year-end financial results for 2017 indicate a deficit of $3.10 million, prior to year-end external audit confirmation.

“Our goal is to deliver a balanced budget every year through our planning and ongoing management of civic funds throughout the year,” says Clae Hack, Director of Finance. “While an annual deficit of $3.10 million is not sustainable, unfortunately there are years where deficits occur. Importantly, there will not be a significant impact to the City’s finances or operations this year as a result of the deficit due to our practice of saving surpluses from previous years to help offset future deficits.”

The deficit represents a 0.65% variance from the City’s overall Civic Operating Budget of $477.6 million and is largely due to shortfalls within various operating revenues. “The City is facing significant non-tax revenue challenges as user fees and other forms or revenue have remained flat or decreased year over year,” says Hack.

Hack says revenues were $5.6 million lower than anticipated in the budget largely due to negative variances for waste handling, Transit, and  parking fines and penalties (partially from better compliance). 

While expenditures were $2.6 million under budget in 2017 largely due to a spending and hiring freeze, there were areas where expenditures had negative variances, as the City had to invest additional funds in several areas: street cleaning and sweeping because of extended program delivery, park maintenance and design because of dry conditions, and unplanned maintenance to repair aging infrastructure at civic pools, office buildings and various arenas.  As a result of service level reports, budgets were adjusted in 2018 for street cleaning and sweeping and parks maintenance to align budgets with the cost of the delivered service levels.

“We’ve put strategies in place to assist in addressing these revenue challenges in a timely manner including looking into waste as a utility, phasing in decreases to revenue budgets to align with actuals, and future reallocation of parking meter revenue to offset the decrease in parking violations,” adds Hack.

In addition, SaskTel Centre and TCU Place had surpluses of $1.35 million and $1.04 million respectively, while the Remai Modern had a modest deficit of $20,700 that will be covered by a contribution from the Building Transition Fund.

All City utilities, including Saskatoon Light & Power and Saskatoon Water posted surpluses for 2017. As required by Council Policy, these surpluses have been transferred to the applicable Stabilization and/or Capital Reserve.

A number of recommendations on reserve adjustments to balance the 2017 budget are highlighted in a report which will be presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Finance at its meeting on March 5, 2018. The Committee will review the recommendations and put forward those they would like City Council to consider and make a decision on.

The report supports the Strategic Goal of Asset and Financial Sustainability by demonstrating how the City invests in what matters, and is committed to openness, accountability and transparency in the allocation of resources.

View last year’s Corporate Business Plan and Budget and find details on the preliminary 2017 year-end financial results at Shaping our Financial Future on saskatoon.ca.

As part of the community-led bridge naming process, a committee of Métis and First Nation leaders, Elders and City representatives have chosen two historical figures and two Cree words as potential names for the North Commuter Parkway (NCP) Bridge.

The four names (in alphabetical order) gathered from the community are: Chief Mistawasis (miss-tuh-WA’-sis), Louis Riel, Waniskâ (WOHN’-skuh) and Wîcîhitowin (wee-chee-HEE’-toh-win).

Waniskâ is a Cree word meaning ‘to arise’ and Wîcîhitowin is a Cree word meaning ‘to help mutually’ or ‘the act of helping one another’.

The NCP Bridge Naming Committee revealed the names today at the Roxy Theatre.  Four educational vignettes were screened for students from local community groups, elementary and high schools which explained the significance of each one selected for the shortlist.

“In naming the bridge, it shows our commitment to answering the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and the process of reconciliation,” says Saskatoon Tribal Council Chief Mark Arcand.

“We are all committed to a better future, and we value everyone’s participation. Reconciliation is about understanding the past and choosing to build a better future. It’s about respecting each other and building trust.”

The committee is now asking the community to ‘share their voice’ on the short-listed four names.  It’s asking for input via an online and television campaign, as well as providing opportunities for people to provide feedback in-person at a number of free public and community screenings.

“We encourage the community to watch the vignettes and begin their own educational journey about the names and their significance to our shared history,” says Judy Pelly, Elder and Indian residential school survivor.

There will also be specific sessions organized for groups such as newcomers, youth, seniors/old people and people living with disabilities. The deadline to provide feedback is March 31, 2018.

“Our aim is to encourage respectful dialogue and conversation within our community, and bring a greater awareness and understanding of Aboriginal history and culture,” Shirley Isbister, President, Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.

“It’s also an exciting opportunity for our school children, our youth, and the entire community to be part of our history and come together in the spirit of reconciliation.”

The community-led project responds directly 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.

The NCP Bridge Naming Committee consists of community leaders from the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, Saskatoon Tribal Council and Central Urban Métis Federation.

For more details on the naming process and how to provide feedback online and in-person, visit Saskatoon.ca/namethencp.

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.

Around 11:00 a.m. an eastbound Saskatoon Transit bus contacted a guardrail near the North Circle Drive Bridge.

Paramedics took three passengers with minor injuries on the Route 13 bus to hospital.

There were 25 passengers who boarded a replacement bus and the driver was issued a ticket for driving without due care and attention. 

As is the practice, Transit officials are conducting an internal review of the incident. 

For demonstrating openness, accountability and transparency in financial reporting, the City of Saskatoon has again received the 2016 Canadian Award for Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) of the United States and Canada.

“Our teams are committed to openness, financial transparency and to full disclosure in our yearly financial reporting, but we also aim to be innovative in our corporate reporting as a municipality,” says Clae Hack, Director of Finance. “We are proud to be recognized by our peers and receive this award for the tenth time.”

The GFOA presented the City with the Canadian Award for Financial Reporting for its 2016 Annual Financial Report recognizing the City’s ability to present financial information in a clear, concise and informative manner.

Receiving the GFOA financial reporting award represents a significant accomplishment by a government and its management. Its purpose is to encourage municipal governments to complete comprehensive annual financial reports that evidence the spirit of transparency and full disclosure.

 “Our 2016 Financial Statements were prepared by our Finance Division, Asset and Financial Management Department,” Hack says.  “With a team-approach in mind, we also partnered with our Employee Experience and Performance Division, Corporate Performance Department.”

The GFOA established the Canadian Award for Financial Reporting (CAnFR) Program in 1986 to encourage and assist Canadian local governments to go beyond the minimum requirements of generally accepted accounting principles, as set by the Public Sector Accounting Board of Canadian Institute of Chartered Public Accountants.

The GFOA is a non-profit professional association serving 17,400 government finance professionals in the United States and Canada, with offices in Chicago, Illinois and Washington, D.C.

Visit saskatoon.ca to view more City of Saskatoon financial reporting documents.

After years of detailed study, planning, and community engagement, the city’s Bus Rapid Transit lines have been revealed.

“This is a major move toward the implementation of our Plan for Growth,” says Lesley Anderson, Director of Planning and Development.  “The future transit system is key to providing viable options for people to move around and supporting transit-oriented development along some of the city’s major corridors.  This plan presents us with a view of our future transit system in much greater detail than we have seen before.  Our goal is to design a system that works for Saskatoon – so join the conversation!”

“There are notable changes to the preferred route configuration presented in November,” Anderson says.  She explains that this includes the introduction of a “Green Line,” necessary to accommodate the split in the former “Red Line.”

Formerly the northern component of the Red Line servicing University Heights, the new Green Line will stretch from University Heights, through the Downtown, terminating at Confederation Mall.  This third line will parallel the Red Line for much of its length, improving the frequency along 22^nd Street, through the Downtown, and along College Drive, while making the overall system easier to understand for users.

Anderson adds the plan provides further details about:

• how a new BRT system will function;
• identifying station design options;
• platform locations; and
• configuration of dedicated runningways.

She says the plan also includes a strategy for how the rest of the transit system could be reconfigured to align with BRT; provide high-quality, direct, and frequent transit connections; and better expand to meet the future needs of a city with a population of 500,000..

“I am excited about the opportunities this system will provide our city,” says Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit.  “This will help us encourage transit-oriented development that meets the growing needs for our city.  Change is needed to ensure the success of our future system, but it will be done incrementally and thoughtfully, in partnership with the community.”

The proposed plan, along with a summary of stakeholder and public input, will be presented to City Council for consideration and approval later this spring.

Background:
At its April 25, 2016 meeting, Saskatoon City Council approved, in principle, the Growth Plan to Half a Million, which includes plans for a re-envisioned transit system based around BRT and infill at strategic locations in the city, including the Downtown, the University of Saskatchewan endowment lands, and along major transportation corridors.  Following this approval, the City created a Ten-Year Action Plan to advance a number of the core initiatives identified in the Growth Plan to Half a Million.

The City and the Government of Canada will share in a total contribution of $7.65 million through the Public Transportation Infrastructure Fund for a number of the Plan for Growth projects, including:

• Transit Plan – includes BRT and Transit System Plan Implementation
• Corridor Growth
  • Transit Villages Concept Plans
  • Corridor Planning Program
  • Brownfield Renewal Strategy

For more information/to sign up for project updates, please visit saskatoon.ca/growth.  Learn more about engagement opportunities by visiting saskatoon.ca/engage.

Saskatoon firefighters want to remind everyone river ice is dangerous for people and pets alike.

The Saskatoon Fire Department has had to respond to a number of emergencies which have involved dogs in distress on river ice.

“Since 2011, firefighters have responded to ten emergencies that involved dogs in the river during the winter months – that’s over one a year on average,” says Assistant Chief Wayne Rodger. “So far this year the Saskatoon Fire Department has been called out to two such emergencies.”

Rodger points out moving water in the river introduces an inherent structural weakness to the ice and is one of the main reasons firefighters always warn people to stay off river ice throughout the winter season.

“Ice will weaken when water is moving above or below the ice surface,” Rodger says.  “River currents and temperatures constantly affect the quality of the ice on the river making it unstable and dangerous.”

The Saskatoon Fire Department again reminds residents to never go on the river ice and whenever possible, to maintain contact and control of dogs in off-leash areas near the river.

To move towards 70% waste diversion, residents are invited to participate in a series of engagement activities that will assist the City in redesigning the curbside waste collection system.

“Decisions about how we manage the waste-stream will impact all current and future residents. It’s important we get this right.” says Brenda Wallace, Director of Environmental and Corporate Initiatives. “The City wants to hear from a large cross-section of curbside customers including people of all ages, people living in different areas, people of various incomes, people in different types of housing and people with differing abilities. Everybody is encouraged to get involved.”

Wallace says three-quarters of what goes into Saskatoon’s Landfill could be diverted with the right programs, policies and citizen participation rates.

“Redesigning the curbside waste collection program to help make waste diversion more attractive behaviour-- while building a sustainable funding model for waste -- is critical to extending the life of the landfill,” Wallace says.

She adds the costs to close the existing landfill and establish a new landfill are estimated at $26 million and $100 million respectively.

Beginning February 12, the City will host a series of public engagement sessions, workshops and surveys to look at priorities, preferences and any barriers that might impact a redesigned curbside collection system.

The scope of the project includes: a review of the current containers and collection frequency for garbage and recycling; development of a variable-rate utility for waste; introduction of a residential city-wide composting program; and evaluation of depots and other waste services.

For more information, including dates and location of activities, visit www.saskatoon.ca/yxetalkstrash.

Community discussions with multi-unit and business stakeholders will begin in the spring of 2018.