A lot of people are saying things are pretty good in Saskatoon. Yes, a lot of fancy things have been done along the river in the downtown. But where are the items of substance?
Where is Lake Placid's "River Landing" development, which should be close to finished now, but hasn't even been started? It's supposed to be the "anchor" of our city's downtown redevelopment. (See my earlier post on "Fort Gathercole.")
Where is "Station 20 West" -- the grocery store and service centre for the people in one of our poorest neighbourhoods, who desperately want and need a grocery store? The Provincial Government originally promised significant financial support to the project. They we had an election, and a different party formed the government. The new party canceled the deal with the poor, the old, the sick, and citizens in general.
Where is the long-promised childrens' hospital that we need for our province?
Where in the new Oliver Lodge -- a long-term care for seniors in poorer health? The provincial government promised money about 20 years ago for that. So far the only thing that has been accoplished is the demolition of the oldest wing of the existing building.
Why has our city council incorporated a new art gallery, instead of fixing the existing one? The new building will be much more expensive (if memory serves correctly).
(Mendel Art Gallery)On top of all that, the mayor and his associates on Council have driven the City deep into debt, and have raised the tax rate 20% in the last 6 years.
And the number and value of building permits this year is way down.
The saying is that, "Saskatoon Shines." To me, Saskatoon has a dull glow at the best. Maybe "rot" better describes what's beginning to show.
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And the number and value of building permits this year is way down.
The saying is that, "Saskatoon Shines." To me, Saskatoon has a dull glow at the best. Maybe "rot" better describes what's beginning to show.
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Oh my,things are not as they should be.
ReplyDelete® Sadly, Rosaria, things are certainly NOT as they should be.
ReplyDeleteBut a lot of people here have their heads stuck in the 1970s mode of thinking, and consider the situation is OK (more or less). Sadly, this is 2009. I've written a letter to the newspaper about this. I may post the letter here, in due course.
For a long time Saskatoon's taxes were lower than Regina's, for which our city council received much criticism. My suspicion is that your 20% tax hike is just catching up. It costs money to run a city and federal and provincial government off-loads have not helped. Canada needs to revamp its relationships among levels of governments so that cities have a new deal.
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