News Releases

• Self-monitor for symptoms
• Stay home if you’re experiencing any symptoms 
• Seek testing
• Stay 2 metres apart
• Wear a mask in public: it’s an extra safety measure to protect those around you
• Download the free COVID-19 Alert App; it informs people of possible exposures without sharing any personal information

The City of Saskatoon is asking eligible voters, who can do so, to make a plan to take advantage of early voting opportunities for the upcoming 2020 Civic Election on Monday, November 9.

Planning Saskatoon’s 2020 Civic Election during the pandemic is unprecedented. The City has undergone detailed pre-planning and added staff and systems to manage the election demand.

Due to the larger than expected response, days before the mail-in ballot application deadline, the Election Office is asking the public to consider all the options available to them.  These options include voting at any advance poll October 30 – November 5 or voting on Election Day, November 9.

“This request is to allow processing of the mail-in ballot applications we’ve received to date and continue to manage applications yet to be received,” Returning Officer Scott Bastian says.

“We have seen an exponential increase in applications.  As the weather gets cooler and COVID case numbers change, we expect the requests to fluctuate,” Bastian says. “In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Election Office planned for an increase in mail-in ballot applications and expanded its program. “However, we have seen a three-fold increase in applications.”

Bastian reminds voters that voting safely is a priority. The Election Office has followed the lead of Elections Saskatchewan and the Public Health Orders .

Already submitted your mail-in ballot application? What you need to know:

• The status of your mail-in ballot application will be sent once your application has been reviewed.
• Voters who receive their mail-in ballot on or after November 2, 2020 should plan to return their ballot in person at the Election Office. 
• If voting on Election Day, November 9, confirm your ward and voting location at saskatoon.ca/mypoll before heading to the poll.

Make a plan to vote early, take advantage of off-peak times:

Advance polls:

• With seven days and 10 different locations across the city, voters can conveniently cast their ballot at any advance poll location no matter which ward they belong to.
  • Friday, October 30 to Thursday, November 5 (dates and times vary, visit Saskatoon.ca/vote2020 for details):
    • Lawson Heights Mall
    • Confederation Mall
    • Market Mall
    • The Centre Mall*
    • City Hall, Committee Room “E”
    • Ebenezer Baptist Church
    • Prairieland Park
    • Station 20 West
    • Lakewood Civic Centre
    • Drive-thru poll* 422 46th Street East 

*The Centre Mall and Drive-thru voting do not have voter assist terminals.

Election Day, Monday, November 9:

• Consider scheduling to mark your ballot during the mid-morning or mid-afternoon on election day, when polls may have less traffic. Polls open 8:00 am – 8:00 pm.

For more information on your early voting options, and the COVID-19 precautions in place at all voting locations, visit saskatoon.ca/vote2020.

Wrapping up the Sid Buckwold Bridge rehabilitation project and replacing aging water mains topped the list of construction priorities for the City this year. However, just as work was about to begin, the primary focus shifted to one that had not been anticipated by anyone.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, we revised our 2020 construction plan to place the safety of our crews and residents at the forefront,” says Terry Schmidt, General Manager of Transportation and Construction. “That meant postponing projects that required workers to enter homes to replace lead water service connections as we strictly followed all guidelines and public health orders.”

Dependent on provincial guidelines and public health orders, the City plans to proceed with water main and lead water service connection replacements in Caswell Hill, Riversdale and Nutana in 2021.

All other planned water main replacements continued, most notably on 8^th Street, Clarence Avenue and Avenue C. Schmidt says approximately 19 kilometers of water mains and sanitary sewer mains were replaced or rehabilitated – about the distance from Saskatoon to Martensville.

“Additionally, we continued to make significant progress toward improving the condition, safety and longevity of Saskatoon’s road and sidewalk network. Millions of dollars have been invested into Saskatoon’s most aggressive construction program since the establishment of a $61 million annual levy in 2014.”

To help reduce the impact to residents and to save on costs and improve efficiency, the City coordinated much of the road and sidewalk work at the same time as underground utility work.

“As for safety in our construction work zones, we are pleased to report that we’ve had zero life-threatening incidents this year,” says Schmidt. “There has been less traffic on our roadways due to the pandemic, but we also believe drivers are getting the message through our annual marketing campaign.”

Significant progress has been made on Saskatoon roads, sidewalks and water mains in recent years and the City of Saskatoon thanks residents for their patience and cooperation.

For more 2020 construction highlights, please see the attached infographics or visit saskatoon.ca/construction.

On Monday, October 18, the Administration will present a decision report to the Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) detailing two options for the implementation of a utility for curbside residential garbage and the upcoming curbside residential organics program. The decision to rescind the November 19, 2018 resolution to fund both with property taxes came during the August 30, 2021 GPC meeting, where the Administration was asked to re-evaluate the funding model and present options on timing, phase-in options, and affordability options.

The two options are as follows:

• Option 1: January 2023 implementation of fixed monthly rates for both black cart garbage and curbside organics utilities.
• Option 2 (Recommendation): January 2023 implementation of fixed monthly rate for curbside organics utility and January 2024 implementation of variable rates for the black cart garbage.

This illustration provides a detailed comparison of both options, including the estimated financial impact on single-family households, condominiums, and non-residential properties.

“Funding these services through a utility is a step in the right direction, as it provides additional transparency of program costs and accountability to customers through a fair and justifiable rate.” says Angela Gardiner, General Manager, Utilities and Environment. “We have done a thorough comparison of both options and we feel that the variable aspect of Option 2 is most favourable as it increases the customer’s control over their costs and encourages lower usage of residential garbage services by providing financial incentives for waste diversion.”

The full report and attachments can be found here.

Progress updates and a decision history can be found at saskatoon.ca/curbsideorganics.