News Releases

The City’s 2020 Report on Service, Savings and Sustainability (SSS Report) highlights how teams worked together, and apart, in 2020 to find new and improved ways to deliver services to residents during the pandemic while focusing on finding savings and reducing our impact on the environment.

“I am very proud of our City employees,” says Celene Anger, Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer. “Despite last year’s extraordinary circumstances, including a work-from-home directive impacting about 1,000 staff, they continued to find innovative ways to continue the safe delivery of essential core services to residents, maximize value for taxpayer dollars and minimize costs for the Corporation.”

“Even with the challenges of 2020, the City moved forward on several major projects including the approval of our Official Community Plan and nationally recognized Green Infrastructure Strategy,” Anger adds. “From making the switch to LED streetlights, adding GPS to our City fleet of vehicles, or the innovative ways found to administer the civic election during the pandemic - every efficiency gained and savings achieved are especially important within a year where COVID-19 greatly impacted our civic finances.”

 2020 SSS Report financial highlights include:

• An estimated $850K in operational savings were identified through a combination of one-time overall and annual savings.
• Saskatoon Land generated $43.7 million in sales and leasing revenues. Financial returns from Land Development operations stay in Saskatoon and are allocated for use in capital projects that would otherwise be funded through property taxes or borrowing.
• Grant funding approvals totaled $69.8 million through a combination of federal and provincial programs.

The annual SSS Report provides highlights to City Council and the community at large on the City’s previous year’s accomplishments related to our Strategic Goal of Continuous Improvement through improved service, increased savings and found efficiencies, and successful sustainability initiatives across civic operations.

The 2020 Report on Service, Savings and Sustainability report will be presented to the Governance and Priorities Committee of City Council today, Monday July 19.

A report directed by City Council to explore supports for Indigenous women and girls and two spirit people (IWG2S) recommends establishing an Independent Office of the Representative Matriarchs who will work with other matriarchs on creating an IWG2S Centre. The Matriarch or “Auntie” will assist IWG2S.

“She would act as aunties do,” says Melissa Cote, Director of Indigenous Initiatives. “Indigenous women, girls and two spirit people know they can go to an auntie with anything and an auntie will provide advice; they will advocate for them within the systems and challenge the system itself. They do their best to protect them and keep them safe.”

This work follows a July 29, 2019 resolution of City Council that the Administration review the Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and identify options for how the City of Saskatoon can respond to the Report’s Calls for Justice that are within the City’s jurisdiction, in a fashion similar to the existing review that has been undertaken for the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In November 2020, the City created a Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirit (MMIWG2S) Advisory Group comprised of an Elder and a number of organizations:

• Aboriginal Friendship Centres of Saskatchewan
• Iskwewuk Ewichiwitochik (Women Walking Together)
• Les Filles de Madelaine/CUMFI
• OUTSaskatoon
• Saskatoon Public Schools
• Greater Saskatoon Catholic Schools
• Saskatoon Tribal Council
• Saskatchewan Health Authority
• Sixties Scoop Indigenous Society of Saskatchewan Inc.
• Saskatoon Police Service
• Saskatoon Public Library
• Saskatoon Fire Department
• Royal Canadian Mounted Police

The purpose of the Advisory Group was to assist in the selection of a consultant; share information and collaborate; and provide guidance and advice in the development of the report.

If approved by City Council, Cote says the Office of the Representative of the Matriarchs will ensure that IWG2S are connected to services that they need to be connected to, be there for IWG2S who are in trouble and provide guidance.

“But most of all, the Auntie will be there to let them know that they are loved and that they matter.”

Cote says the City will work with the Advisory Group and partners to determine the process for selecting a representative of the Aunties.

The report entitled “IWG2S Coming Home” was prepared by Hope Restored Canada; these consultants believe it is critical to acknowledge the role that Indigenous women have played in the past and that their experiences and knowledge be brought to the forefront for present and future actions. To capture this, they have chosen and used the term “matriarch” in this report. In Indigenous families, aunties often serve as an extra parent who provides advice and emotional support to relatives.

“So, these are the empowered leaders for families and community. They are the Indigenous women and two spirit people that are already advising all over the City on Indigenous issues – the ones that people go to for advice as counsellors, advisors, leaders and confidants.”

The Administration will present the study to the Governance and Priorities Committee of City Council on Monday July 19.

Based on an initial review, Administration will then bring forward options for operational and capital funding in the 2022-23 Business Plan and Budget to implement the recommendation and actions in the Final Report.

If implemented, the Centre will work with non-profit organizations, federal and provincial governments to coordinate services. The report offers possibilities such as:

• Coordination of services that work in tandem with City departments and other agencies offering services to IWG2S
• Indigenous search and rescue unit
• Centralized knowledge base and referrals
• Ceremony / Elders/ Matriarchs

Next steps will include an analysis of the Final Report submitted by Hope Restored Canada; a debrief with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and Two Spirit Advisory Group and Hope Restored Canada.  Following this, a communications, public education, and engagement plan will be developed.

“This report stresses we need to listen to the Aunties,” Cote says. “At a very basic level, every Indigenous woman, girl and two-spirited person needs safe spaces: a place to sleep; a bathroom to use in privacy; a kitchen in which to feed themselves and family. These are basic needs; a human right and an action people can get behind.”

Every year, the City of Saskatoon produces its Service, Savings and Sustainability (SSS) Report. The report focuses on the preceding calendar year and highlights the ways City employees worked to capture savings, enhance services for residents, and make improvements in the area of sustainability.

“The theme of the 2021 report is 2021: Resilience & Readiness,” says Celene Anger, the City’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer. “We wanted to tell the story of how we worked together to continue delivering and improving programs and services in the second year of a global pandemic, all while working to keep residents and staff safe.”

Initiatives featured in the 2021 report include:

• Doubling minor sidewalk repairs
• City Hall Lobby reconfigured to prioritize customer experience
• Improvements to Saskatoon.ca to make it more mobile friendly
• Reintroduction of prescribed fires to help ecological health
• LED street light upgrade completed
• Solid Waste Reduction & Diversion Plan unveiled
• Facility improvements to increase energy efficiency
• Use of recycled asphalt
• ePermitting improvements for building and development permits

The 2021 Service, Savings and Sustainability (SSS) Report reflects the City’s year-over-year commitment to find savings, explore and take on new challenges, and find practical, forward-thinking solutions to meet the changing needs of the community.

“At the City of Saskatoon, we have a strong commitment to continuous improvement and are always looking for new ways to improve performance and deliver value for taxpayer dollars,” says Anger.

The 2021 SSS Report will be presented as an information item at the Governance and Priorities Committee meeting on Monday, July 18. The report is available now at saskatoon.ca/SSSreport.