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CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Dig deep': Councillors encouraged to find more savings ahead of budget talks
City councillors are getting a preview of the difficult discussions and decisions to be made during budget deliberations. The governance and priorities committee received its second update on city finances on Wednesday after a grim forecast in June. This time it was presented with 69 options of items which aren't included in the budget but could be prioritized, if council chooses to add them. The chambers were filled with members of Saskatoon's business community looking to make their cases. 'Our message today is simple,' Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce CEO Jason Aebig said. 'From now until November, dig deep and demand better. Put the big brains in your administration to work on finding savings.' In June, the city forecasted property tax increases of 9.9 per cent in 2026 and 7.3 per cent in 2027 if spending were to continue as is. The increases amount to $22 and $18 per month, respectively, for an average assessed home value of $397,000. Council ended that meeting by asking administration to find additional savings to lower a 2025 property tax increase closer to 5 per cent. On Wednesday, dozens of members of both the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce and the NSBA filled the chambers to stress the importance of a lean budget cycle. 'Our members are clear, the pace of tax increases that we've seen and are projected to see is not sustainable,' NSBA executive director Keith Moen said to the committee. Moen highlighted the importance of A.I., and the effect the technology could have on city finances and staffing. Rather than welcome crops of new hires, Moen urged the city to explore all opportunities to utilize A.I. and save taxpayers' bottom line. 'A.I. represents the third major wave of technological change following the internet and smartphones,' he said. 'Every city employee, including council, should be planning for the future with A.I. in mind, but those who embrace it will help the city deliver better services at a lower cost. Those who don't risk holding us back.' Administration said the city is beginning to use A.I., calling its usage 'a little immature at this time.' A report is being prepared for council over 'the next several months,' but some councillors want to see those opportunities sooner. 'I think that's something that we could accelerate, and the sooner we hear back on that, the better,' Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer said. Wednesday's report before councillors was for information purposes only. No decisions were made, but the 69 options split between operating and capital expenditures — which account for a combined spending of $12.7 million in 2026 and $15.2 million in 2027 — not only set the stage for November's budget deliberations, they prioritize spending if councillors look to add. Ward 4 Coun. Troy Davies said policing is his main priority. He has no interest in reducing the police budget. Council previously learned the police budget alone would account for a 4.09 per cent increase to property taxes if approved as is. 'There's not a whole lot of room, other than going back in and cutting services, which might have to occur as well,' Davies said. 'I think everything should be on the table.' Wednesday's discussion ended with Ward 9 Coun. Bev Dubois asking administration to compile a list of items the city pays for which used to be the responsibility of the provincial or federal governments.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
‘Reasons to be optimistic': Saskatchewan employment numbers top in Canada
WATCH: New Stats Canada data reveals the province is leading the country in putting people to work. Saskatchewan is leading the way when it comes to putting folks to work, based on recent Statistics Canada data. The latest labour force numbers show that Saskatchewan continues to see record growth, with over 16,000 more jobs in the province compared to July 2024. Saskatchewan was the only province to record an employment increase in July, according to Statistics Canada, with 3,500 people newly employed. Jason Aebig, head of The Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, isn't surprised by the numbers. He attributes the growth to the province's diverse economy — with oil, potash, agriculture and more. 'That means our risk is spread out across multiple sectors and industries. We're not wholly dependent on, on one or two,' according to Aebig. Saskatchewan's grit is also part of the success. 'Our business community remains very bullish on our economy. They continue to feel strongly that, there are reasons to be optimistic and there's reasons to continue to pursue growth,' Aebig told CTV News. Saskatchewan has the lowest unemployment rate amongst provinces at 5%, well below the national average of 6.9%. 'It says everything about the state of our economy and how positive, a lot of our employers are feeling. You see that translated in their hiring and the gobbling up of great skill talent,' he said. Among the youngest cohort captured in the data, unemployment is much higher in the province. For boys and men ages 15 to 24, the unemployment rate is 13.8 per cent. For women and girls in that age group, it's 11.3 per cent. According to Hanif Hemani, the managing director of Express Employment Professionals in Saskatoon, we often compare ourselves to Alberta as our neighbouring province and see similarities in employment trends. Not this time. 'Typically, we mimic Alberta, and this is kind of the first time where we've actually diverged a little bit from Alberta. Alberta's actually lost some jobs, and the unemployment rate went up,' Hemani said. According to Hemani who has been in this role for 10 years, Saskatchewan is benefiting in a huge way from projects happening now. 'As a province of one million, we have some massive capital investment happening in our system in Saskatchewan. BHP is investing $7, $8 billion. They have a number of big capital investments. The construction industry in general, and a lot of these capital investments are driving, additional workforce and, and work needs,' he says. His company helps link employees with jobs and says, newcomers are being well utilized. 'Unlike other provinces — and I'll use Alberta again as an example — they've had a very difficult time placing a lot of their newcomers in. So, that has contributed to a lot of the unemployment rate, in Alberta. We've been actually pretty good at doing that here,' he says. Indigenous people are also proving to be a valuable untapped workforce, adding to the positive numbers. 'It has been underdeveloped in years past. A lot of the mining sectors in the north see Indigenous people as the local population that they can tap into. That previously, perhaps, went sort of unrecognized,' Hemani said. The jobs that are being seen are solid full-time positions, he says. They are entry or slightly above entry level positions, in large part. Major year-over-year gains were reported for healthcare and social assistance, up 9,800 — an increase of 10.3 per cent. Construction is up 6,500, an increase of 14.7 per cent and finance, insurance, real estate and leasing is up 3,500, an increase of 13.1 per cent.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Saskatoon mayor gives 1st 'State of the City' address, acknowledges growing issue of homelessness
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block delivered her first "State of the City" address on Wednesday. Addressing members of the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce over lunch at TCU Place, she started off by touting the city's strengths, like its low unemployment rate and ongoing regional co-operation to drive development in the area. But Block, who was elected mayor in November, also talked about one of the city's biggest challenges — the growing homeless population. During a question-and-answer session, the chamber's CEO Jason Aebig asked Block if she was satisfied with the progress on homelessness so far. The mayor said that no, she's not. "I think it would be impossible to be the leader of the city and say that it's OK what we are seeing in the streets of Saskatoon today," she said. "And it doesn't make me feel any better to know that other cities have it worse, or that all cities are facing a crisis of homelessness." Block said she is encouraged by the federal government's housing accelerator fund, calling the 757 units that can be created under it an "enormous help." She also said she's grateful for the province's stated commitment to helping people access addictions recovery supports. "I'm also wondering, though, what happens to the folks that aren't ready for that recovery yet? How are we supporting them?" she said. Block said it's important for all levels of government to work together and spoke about the city's homelessness action plan, developed by the city, Saskatoon Tribal Council, Métis Nation-Saskatchewan and the Saskatoon Housing Initiatives Partnership. She said the city is "working urgently" with the province to create a new drop-in centre. New affordable housing is also on the way, "but housing takes time," she said.
