Saskatoon mayoral candidates pitch different visions on how to fix homelessness crisis

Three Saskatoonmayoral candidates offered different visions onhow to tackle homelessness, property taxes and a new downtown arena during a debate onCBC's Saskatoon Morning radio show Friday morning.

Taking part in the debateat Glass and Lumber in Saskatoon were Cynthia Block, who has been a city councillor since 2016, Don Atchison, who was mayor from 2003 to 2016, and Gordon Wyant, who was on city council from 2003 to 2010 before becoming a Saskatchewan Party MLA and cabinet minister.

Mayoral candidate Cary Tarasoff declined the invitation to the debate and Mike Harder didnot respondto CBC.

Homelessness

When it comes to addressinghomelessness,Block said facilities must be close to where services are to help people transition, but residents and businesses must be brought to the table with a task force.

"The struggle is nobody wants it in their backyard," she said, adding the plan has to be done in partnership with the community and other levels of government.

"All of the research shows putting it on the outskirts never works.... The model needs to be close to services, close to transit."

WATCH |Mayoral candidates agree Fairhaven shelter was wrong move, but differ on path forward:

Mayoral candidates agree Fairhaven shelter was wrong move, but differ on path forward

9 days ago

Duration 5:55

All three candidates at Saskatoon Morning's mayoral debate Friday agreed that the emergency shelter in the Fairhaven neighbourhood was the wrong move, but their pitches on what to do instead differed.

Wyant advocated a different tactic, saying that abandoned houses and housing not being fully utilized by the Saskatchewan Housing Corp. could be renovated and given to housing authorities that provide affordable units.

"My plan is to bring all that together with industry, with education and with the government, to provide the kind of housing," Wyant said. "There's hundreds and hundreds of vacant and abandoned housing in the city. We can take advantage of those."

Atchisonsaidwe need to categorize the homeless and put them in tiny homes on acres of land the city owns that is not in residential or commercial areas.

"It's out in the open. The city has thousands of acres that would be able to accommodate [those homes]."

Atchison cited the examples of the Regional Psychiatric Centre and the SaskatoonCorrections Centre being built on vacant land, then having homes or businesses built around them.

Crime

"When we are spending 24 cents out of every taxpayer's dollar for policing we clearly need to find a different approach," Block said.

She said her plan would see police, fire and transit have the resources they need today, but also buildcommunity safety from the ground up through neighbourhood and business safety plans, and a 24/7 drop-in youth centre.

"Some of these would be new resources, technologyto make sure we are not only being proactive but having measurable results."

WATCH | Atchison, Wyant call for more officers, Block wants proactive plans to reduce need for enforcement:

Atchison, Wyant call for more officers, Block wants proactive plans to reduce need for enforcement

9 days ago

Duration 5:03

On the topic of crime, Don Atchison and Gord Wyant both said more police officers need to be hired immediately. Cynthia Block acknowledged the need for more patrols in the short term, but said she wants to make proactive plans that reduce crime in the long run.

Wyant said he would increase police resources technology and the number of officers anddecentralize police services.

He said he wants to,"create more precinct offices in and around Saskatoon where the police are working in their communities."

Atchisonwants more officers on the street, but said the idea of adding more precincts would just mean more officers behind desks and not out on the streets.

"Those resources could be much better spent with officers out there working on behalf of the citizens of Saskatoon."

He saidthe number of officers per 100,00 people has declined over the last few years.

"We need to get back to having officers actually talk to the public, deal with them on a one-to-one basis."

Property taxes

Atchison said he would have a zero per cent increase in his first year by freezing all hiring by the cityexcept for police and finding $20 million in savings.

"We need to get back to the basics again policing, water, waste water, transportation," Atchisonsaid during the debate.

"The fringe items, unfortunately there's going to be some difficult decisions made."

Block said she has been a strong advocate for basics like infrastructure, but that azero per cent tax hike would mean giving up something on the service side.

"I wouldan innovative approach on how to reduce the pressure on property taxes," Block said. "We need innovative funding and procurement, by working with other cities to reduce big capital costs and asking for national leadership on national issues such as baseline funding for transit."

WATCH | Atchison promises zero property tax increase, Block warns about kicking expenses down the road:

Atchison promises zero property tax increase, Block warns about kicking expenses down the road

9 days ago

Duration 5:39

Candidates at Saskatoon Morning's mayoral debate were asked about future property tax increases. Gord Wyant outlined current expenses that he says the city should not be paying. Don Atchison says he would not raise taxes in his first year. Cynthia Block warned that heavy cuts now could end up costing the city much more in the future.

Wyantsaid he'd get next year's property tax down to two per cent from its current six per cent through efficiencies and sticking to the basics.

"We need to look at what the core services of government are and avoid taking up space that other governments should be responsible for," Wyant said.

• Find more coverage of theSaskatoon municipal election.
• Learn more aboutSaskatoon's mayoral candidates.

A new downtown arena

Wyant saidhe supports more convention spaceat TCU Place, "but I don't support any other development in downtown Saskatoon, especially with respect to the rink, that are going to affect the mill rate."

Wyant said the project has already affected the mill rate in terms of taxes to downtown hotels.

"The funding model is flawed."

Block said she too will say no to a new arena if it hasan impact to property taxes, but that the overall project should go forward at some point.

"If we want a city that's more efficient, more affordable, and more sustainability we will want the city centre plan to move forward," Block said.

"But if there is a funding flaw in the funding model I don't think today is the day we have to worry about that. This is years in the future that we need to be talking about that, not today."

WATCH | Candidates spar on what downtown arena will and has cost taxpayers:

Candidates spar on what downtown arena will and has cost taxpayers

9 days ago

Duration 5:01

Candidates at Friday's Saskatoon Morning mayoral debate were all adamant that taxpayers should not foot the bill for a new downtown arena.

Atchison saidhe would vote no to a new downtown arena.

"Until you have safe and secure downtown, it doesn't matter what you do," Atchison said.

"People don't want to come downtown."

He said the city has to deal with "needs, not wants," and a new arena isn't needed.

Housing accelerator fund

Block saidshe supports what the city has done to access tens of millions of dollars fromthe federal Housing Accelerator Fund, "because it addresses the urgent matter of lack of housing in a city that's growing at faster place than anywhere else in Canada."

But she said she would put in incentives to keep increased density close to the LINK transit lines.

"It's not lost on me that this means an intrusion into neighbourhoods that none of us want to do at this point in the city's history," she said.

"My plan will be to incentivize mixed use directly along the corridors and by doing that de-incentivize moving that into the interior of neighbourhoods."

WATCH | Saskatoon mayoral candidates clash on Housing Accelerator Fund:

Saskatoon mayoral candidates clash on Housing Accelerator Fund

9 days ago

Duration 3:08

The federal Housing Accelerator Fund was a topic of contention at Friday's Saskatoon Morning mayoral debate. Don Atchison and Gord Wyant opposed the program, despite the city having already approved associated zoning changes.

Atchison saidhe is adamantly opposed to the accelerator fund.

"It is a disaster for the City of Saskatoon," he said.

Atchison said council has dropped the ball over the past few years.

"They didn't have the vision, they didn't have the foresight to see how the city was going to grow."

Wyantsaidhe supports greater density, but not "to throw away 120 years of planning for $41 million."

He said other cities have seenlawsuits stemming from the accelerator fund and the same could happen in Saskatoon, costing the city money.

The civic election is Nov. 13. Advance polls are open fromNov. 1 to 4 in various locations from noon to 8 p.m. CST.

There are also advance polls for University of Saskatchewan students on Nov. 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST and at Saskatchewan Polytechnic on Nov. 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. CST.