Rent reduced for riders, early budget items approved by Regina Council
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Regina's city council covered a lot of ground in a three-hour meeting on Wednesday. With all members in attendance, coun...
Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark says 2022 felt like a year of “recovery,” with some major curveballs.
At the beginning of the year, just as COVID-19 numbers began to drop in the city, the Russian invasion of
Ukraine occurred. Clark said it felt like the bad news just wasn’t stopping.
“It just felt like, ‘Man, we can’t get a break,’ ” the mayor said.
2022 was also a year when the city saw the consequences of addictions, homelessness and mental health crises.
“Whether it’s because of the destabilizing effects of COVID on people or the pure toxicity of the drug supply, it’s been very, very difficult to see all those lives impacted,” Clark said.
“We have neighbourhoods that don’t feel as safe because we have people struggling with these issues, or in the downtown, and it’s very complex and it’s very multi-faceted. I would say it’s one of the biggest challenges the community is facing.”
Despite the negative news, there also has been a lot of good work done over the last year, the mayor said.
He pointed to the purchase of a site location for the Downtown Entertainment District and the developments around rare earth minerals, with Saskatoon becoming a hub for that industry.
Over the past year, the city also adopted the United Nations declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Clark noted. He highlighted the work being done by the Saskatoon Tribal Council to establish emergency wellness centres, the strong turnout for the city’s Truth and Reconciliation Walk, and new partnerships with Indigenous groups.
The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way the city fundamentally operated on many levels, said Clark. Some of the city’s permitting and other services moved online, and council adapted and learned how to operate through hybrid meetings, but the city still saw some lingering effects from the pandemic.
“Whether it’s on our transit use, on our revenues, on our downtown, on our leisure centres, and the financial impacts on our ability to plan and prepare, it does still make it challenging to plan and prepare and budget,” said Clark.
As the end of the year draws near, Clark said he feels hopeful, with Saskatoon forecast to have the fastest-growing economy in the country.
“It has also brought that chance to think forward to the future and to build for the future,” he said.