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Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action inspire new Transit shelter
June 22, 2021 - 6:26am
Saskatoon Transit and students from the E.D. Feehan Newcomer Youth Engagement Program (NYEP) and the miyo mâcihowin program met with Métis Elder Nora Cummings, First Nations Elder Harry Lafond, and Newcomer Community Leader, Senos Timon to create and design a bus shelter on the north side of Rusholme Road, west of Avenue M by their school.
“There are many ways we can respond as a city to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action.” says Mayor Charlie Clark. “This project built a partnership between Saskatoon Transit, E.D. Feehan students and staff, and Indigenous elders and newcomer community leaders in creating this beautiful new bus shelter for the Westmount Neighbourhood. Thank you to everyone involved for the extra effort you put in through COVID to get the project done, congratulations!”
Following the success of the collaborations with students at Aden Bowman Collegiate on a Métis inspired bus shelter, and students at Nutana Collegiate on a First Nations inspired shelter, Saskatoon Transit wanted to work on another Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action, #93. This call-to-action calls to revise the information kit for newcomers to Canada to reflect a more inclusive history of the diverse Aboriginal people of Canada.
The students from the NYEP and miyo mâcihowin program reflected on Elder Cummings and Lafond’s teachings with inspiration from Newcomer Community Leader Senos Timon to create this piece of art. One of the themes that continued to pop up was the idea that we are all different and should be proud of that, and remember who we are and reach out to one another.
“This shelter is yet another example of building bridges of cross-cultural awareness,” says Jim McDonald, Director of Saskatoon Transit. “It is and will remain a physical reminder of the commitment the City has made on answering the Calls to Action.”
The student’s artwork, inspired by First Nations and Métis Elders and Newcomer Community Leader were put together by Muveddet Al-Katib, an immigrant artist working with the NYEP as an art educator and was then laser cut by Metal Shapes Manufacturing.
“I want to congratulate these young people on this project. It is a legacy they will leave not only for themselves, but for generations to come.” Cummings says. “This project helped to unify our youth, showed them how to work together. They did a wonderful job and will look back on this experience and remember the friendships made working together.”
“The Creator gives to each of us the creative spirit to create beauty through the lens of our cultures,” Lafond says. “The bus stop at E.D. Feehan High School captures the spirit of many cultures to show the growing diversity of our beautiful city. I hope this helps us understand the importance of these projects to our identity as a community of many peoples.”
“Arts bring people together; it inspires and unifies our communities regardless of age, race, and ethnicity, and it gives hope and reminds us that we are not alone,” says Senos Timon. “This project is a perfect example of how arts can be a vehicle to build bridges.”
"Students really benefited from meeting with and talking to the elders,” says Mike Stone, NYEP teacher. “It reinforced for students the value of listening to and learning from the stories of those that came before us. The process also helped illustrate to the students that even across differing cultures, there are more similarities than differences that exist between us."
The idea behind Saskatoon Transit’s Bus Shelter Art Project is to comply with the Truth and Reconciliation Call to Action #79; calling upon the government, Aboriginal organizations and the arts community, to develop a reconciliation framework for Canadian heritage and commemoration, including integrating Indigenous history, heritage values and memory practices into Canada’s history.
TRC Calls to Action inspire new piece of Indigenous art
June 22, 2022 - 3:16am
- In front of Aden Bowman Collegiate (1904 Clarence Ave S)
- 12th Street and Broadway Avenue
- E.D. Feehan on the north side of Rusholme Road, west of Avenue M
To coincide with Indigenous History Month and Indigenous Peoples Day, Saskatoon Transit has unveiled its fourth bus shelter displaying Indigenous artwork. These shelters reaffirm Saskatoon Transit’s commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #79.
This year’s shelter was created through a collaboration between the Saskatoon Survivors Circle and Indigenous artist, Justine "Tini" Stilborn. Stilborn worked to capture the reflections of the Survivors using visual art. She sought to tell the story of their past including the atrocities of residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, and those resulting from the child welfare and foster care system. But the artwork is also intended to capture the Survivors’ hopes for the future.
Stilborn created her designs using Procreate and Adobe Illustrator which were then cut out of metal sheets by MetalShapes for installation at 885 Confederation Drive.
“The meetings between the Survivors and Justine were open and emotional conversations about what we wanted to communicate through this piece of art” says Survivor Frank Badger.
“We hope this will become a place and symbol of reconciliation, healing, and unity for all Indigenous people” says Survivor Barb Badger.
The artwork’s storytelling begins on the left panel, with the Sixties Scoop depicting young Indigenous children being taken from their homes and families. This panel was done in red to convey the stereotype of the red skin of Indigenous people and the bloodshed and pain experienced.
The back panels illustrate Indigenous children’s involuntary assimilation to euro-western culture shown by the cutting of their hair. These panels also show Indigenous children being removed from their homes in more contemporary times, bridged by shoes that represent the unmarked graves of residential school children. The hands at the top reflect the broken connection between Indigenous generations and the yearning to reconnect. These panels were done in orange to align with orange shirt day and the Every Child Matters movement.
The right panel is designed to elicit a sense of freedom as Indigenous people return to their cultural practices and reconnect with their ancestors. This panel is yellow to represent hope and joy.
For the first time, art was also added to the ceiling of a bus shelter. “This piece depicts the dawn of a new day where Indigenous persons can celebrate their babies again without the fear of having them taken,” says Stilborn. “There are little faces in the clouds, drawn from the ultrasounds of my two daughters.”
“Saskatoon Transit’s work with the Saskatoon Survivors Circle continues to advance reconciliation in Saskatoon,” says Mayor Charlie Clark. “The stories of the Survivors are the truth we must understand that leads us towards meaningful reconciliation. The beautiful work of art by this Indigenous artist is now a visual representation of the Survivors stories. Thank you to the Survivors Circle, to Justine, and to Saskatoon Transit for all being part of our shared journey towards reconciliation.”
“Following the location of unmarked residential school graves, Saskatoon Transit was inspired to reach out to the Saskatoon Survivors Circle,” says Tracey Davis, Acting Director of Saskatoon Transit. “Truth and reconciliation go hand in hand, and this year was our opportunity to help tell those truths through this shelter installation.”
“Art brings people together; it creates conversations, inspires and unifies our communities, and gives hope for the future,” says Melissa Cote, the City’s Director of Indigenous Initiatives. “This project is a perfect example of how art can be healing as well as an opportunity for learning.”
The other three Saskatoon Transit bus shelters displaying Indigenous artwork are located at the following locations:
City Council Committee defers decision on setting indicative rates: seeks more time to review all options
June 21, 2021 - 10:31am
At today’s Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) meeting, members asked for a deferral to set the indicative rates for 2022 and 2023 at a later date.
Special meetings are to be arranged with the Standing Policy Committee on Finance to undertake a deeper review of the proposed 2022 and 2023 estimated indicative rates and report back to GPC.
The purpose of the review will be to further explore options to address the property tax pressure residents and businesses face in this unprecedented year, and to recognize the funds required to maintain quality services and address strategic priorities of City Council. There will be opportunities for planned stakeholder engagement as part of this process.
GPC also asked the Administration to report back on the implications for the funding and operations of waste programs, including the city-wide organics program, specifically the proposal of possibly funding the organics program as a utility model. City Council previously decided to phase-in the cost of the city-wide organics program. The phased-in approach has a financial impact of 0.87% on the City’s mill rate in 2022 and 0.87% again in 2023.
Setting the indicative rate is not to finalize the property tax rates. It is the starting point in the budget building process and for 2022 and 2023, whereby the estimated rates presented are for a status quo budget – the property tax rates presented to GPC of 5.96% in 2022 and 5.42% in 2023 are the rates required to keep all City services and service levels the same as what residents have been receiving.
City Council will make all final decisions on the City’s service delivery and service levels on November 29, 30 and December 1, 2021, at its budget review for 2022 and 2023.
The indicative rate guides the Administration in preparing the multi-year budget to allocate resources to the services, programs and initiatives within Council’s priority areas outlined in its 2022-2025 Strategic Plan, which will be released in early fall.
Visit saskatoon.ca/budget for more information on the City’s 2022/2023 Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget process.
Maintaining services, responding to pandemic pressures: Council Committee to consider 2022-2023 indicative rates
June 17, 2021 - 10:25am
- to set the property tax rate equal to the indicative rate;
- add to the property tax rate above the indicative rate, which provides the ability to consider implementation of some of the budget options that will be presented in August; or
- decrease the property tax rate below the indicative rate, which would require reductions to the budget that could change existing service levels.
The City of Saskatoon is preparing its first multi-year budget during a global pandemic. Despite the uncertainty as to when restrictions are lifted and people respond to a post-pandemic environment, the City Administration is recommending that the Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) of City Council set the 2022 and 2023 indicative rates at their next meeting, Monday, June 21. Setting the indicative rate guides the Administration in preparing the budget by allocating resources to the services, programs and initiatives that help achieve Council’s strategic priorities.
Driven by growth and inflationary pressures, the Administration is estimating an indicative rate for each of the next two years that covers the increasing costs of service delivery. To that end, the Administration is proposing annual average operating expenditure increases of three percent, the lowest in several years.
“The City’s expenditure increases are driven primarily by growth, and inflation,” says Tarasoff. “Administration has made efforts to limit the increase in budgetary expenditures with the aim to lessen the potential property tax increase while maintaining existing service delivery levels.
“Through the Administrative budgeting process, the Administration already cut $7.5 million from the initial indicative budget for 2022. These adjustments reduced the potential indicative property tax rate by approximately three percentage points.”
Addressing inflationary and growth pressures while delivering existing services and maintaining service levels has proven to be challenging for the Administration as non-tax revenues fail to keep pace.
Although the Administration estimates revenue increases of $3.15 million in 2022 and $5.06 million in 2023, for the indicative rate, these increases are well below what the City would need in order to keep pace with changes in the economy.
Growth in user fees and government operating transfers are below population changes and inflation. This revenue gap causes significant pressure on our starting point, the indicative rate.
“Preparing the 2022-2023 indicative rates produced many challenges. This is because there are many financial pressures from declining non-tax revenues and longer-term challenges to increase that revenue due largely to the impacts of COVID-19,” says Kerry Tarasoff, Chief Financial Officer. “The tough job is to strike the right balance between delivering on City Council priorities, service levels, budget realities and the long-term financial stability for the City.”
The Administration will require the Committee’s direction on setting a property tax target for preparing the 2022-2023 budget for deliberation later this fall. The options are:
The estimated indicative rate increase is 5.96% in 2022 and 5.42% in 2023. These indicative rates do not include the expected short-term impacts from COVID-19.
The City estimates the fiscal impact from the COVID-19 pandemic to be $16.8 million in 2022 and $10 million in 2023. To address this impact, the City will require spending restrictions and a fiscal transfer from either the federal or provincial government (or a combination of both) like the Safe Restart Program funding that was provided in 2021.
Setting the indicative municipal property tax rate is an important first building block in the development of the City’s multi-year business plan and budget. It is important to remember this first step is not the final property tax rate. City Council will finalize its decisions at the 2022-2023 budget deliberations set for November 2021.
Visit saskatoon.ca/budget for the Administrative Report to GPC andmore information on the City's 2022 2023 Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget process.
City recommends in-sourcing collections for upcoming city-wide curbside organics program
June 16, 2021 - 10:03am
- Option 1 ($3.0–3.3 million annually): In-source city-wide collection of organic waste.
- Option 2 ($3.0–4.5 million annually): Out-source city-wide organic waste collection to a third party for a fixed term.
- Option 3 ($4.2–5.65 million annually): In-source organic waste collection for a portion of the City and out-source the balance to a third party for a fixed term.
- utilize existing City resources to maximum efficiency, including collections equipment and customer service infrastructure to ensure successful implementation;
- provide the greatest span of control to adjust routing and service levels;
- minimize risks associated with a third-party provider, including disruption to service and ability to maintain a high level of customer service and public relations;
- minimize overall life cycle cost when considering both waste and organics programs and provides the highest level of certainty of costs over the long term; and
- minimize impact to current workforce engaged in organics collections.
On Monday, June 21, the administration will present a report to the Governance and Priorities Committee recommending that the City in-source collections service for the city-wide curbside organics program slated to begin in spring 2023. On October 22, 2018, City Council approved the establishment of a new waste management service level of bi-weekly year-round waste and organics collection for all curbside residential households.
The options being presented are as follows:
“Multiple factors were considered before arriving at this recommendation,” says Brendan Lemke, Director of Water & Waste Operations. “We are making a recommendation that puts us in the best position to operate this new program most efficiently and with the least impact on our existing resources.”
Decision factors included cost, cost stability, life cycle cost, span of control and labour relations implications. The recommended Option 1 was most favourable in all categories, as it would:
Review the full admin report and attachments.
Progress updates and a decision history can be found on the Curbside Organics Program webpage.