Homelessness Tracking
Winnipeg just admitted its homelessness numbers were wrong. Earlier this year End Homelessness Winnipeg reported about 8,200 people using services, including roughly 4,400 who were chronically homeless. The corrected figures are actually 2,231 and 436. The cause was a federal data system, HIFIS, that apparently didn’t close inactive cases the way the organization understood it […]
Residential Accessible Parking Spots
Yesterday’s Standing Policy Committee on Transportation had a full agenda. We reviewed bylaw changes to some fines and fees. One proposed change would be significant for residents with accessibility needs who have no driveway and depend on an accessible parking spot in front of their home. Until this proposal, that parking spot was provided free […]
What Could DEED Actually Cost Saskatoon?
The numbers below are my own projections and not represent the City of Sasktoon or any other Councillor’s position. They’re based on how the federal programs that would fund DEED work, which matters because the Province’s offer depends entirely on what Ottawa agrees to fund. The official estimate for the Downtown Event and Entertainment District […]
Sister City in Ukraine
This year marks 35 years since Saskatoon and Chernivtsi, Ukraine became sister cities. The partnership started in 1991, the year Ukraine became independent. It made sense then and still does. Chernivtsi is the historic heart of Bukovyna, where many of the Ukrainian families who homesteaded in Saskatchewan came from. The two cities are close in […]
Ward 3 Update
It was another long session at City Council yesterday. The most significant portion of the meeting had Council spend six hours on the 1st Avenue BRT item, with a full lineup of public speakers and presentations. I spend the past few weeks researched the project and even created an A simulator like the VISSM application […]
Reflection from the Table
As I’m coming up to 2 years as a City Councillor, I’m reflecting on my time at the table and examining some things more deeply. One of the things that caused me to run in the first place was the mistrust I had in the government, and the longer I think on it from my […]
Development Appeals Board Decision
An interesting decision came out of the Development Appeals Board recently. A fence variance for increasing the fence height to over 8 feet was granted for a property on Saskatchewan Crescent East. The appeal was granted because the fence backs onto a rear lane, so there was no neighbour positioned to claim it affected them, […]
Will Blue Dot Fever Affect Saskatoon?
You’ve probably seen the term “Blue Dot Fever”, which refers to the blue dots marking unsold seats on Ticketmaster’s seating maps, and the wave of postponed dates and canceled tours behind them. Acts like Meghan Trainor, Zayn, and Post Malone have all cut back major portions of their 2026 tours. Here’s the part that gets […]
Understanding TIF
You’ve probably heard the term “TIF” mentioned as one of the ways the City plans to help pay for the Downtown Event and Entertainment District. Since it’s one of the financing tools being considered, and as I keep getting questions about it, here’s what it actually is and where we need to consider it’s limitations. […]
Saskatoon’s Future: Planning for Progress?
There’s a push to remake Saskatoon around a certain vision of “progress” such as high density housing, mass transit, bike infrastructure, the 15-minute neighbourhood, etc.. All these things are ideas and they all have some degree of merit, but let’s be honest about what’s actually being weighed against what. The one thing I consider is […]