Responses to the LiveableYXE Survey Click on any question to see the responses from the candidates.
Russell Nadin
I support biking in Saskatoon, especially Tod Fox and Saskatoon Cycles advocacy for three intersections to be improved each year for safety. Three intersections is a good start, we can strive for more.
As intersections are improved wheelchair accessibility, pedestrians, cyclists, and vehicles must all be included for safety and function.
Examples include wheelchair ramps, curb extensions at crosswalks, clear and minimal signage for drivers, and improving bus stops with bus turnouts so that a lane of vehicle traffic is not blocked as passengers enter and exit the bus.
Transit needs air conditioning and safety for riders. Saskatoon transit fails to service several neighbourhoods and routes city wide are not frequent enough or completed in a reasonable time.
There is an opportunity to fund transit upgrades with bus advertisements. Many buses operate without ads to generate revenue and that opportunity should be utilised.
Ads on transit are also a great way for local businesses to get noticed.
The downtown bus mall right beside city hall is the easiest place in the city to travel to by bus.
I bike or take the bus to city hall and we should expect all our city councillors to regularly walk, bike, or bus.
What better way can council promote than to lead by example?
Russell Nadin
The Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) has the potential to densify large parts of Saskatoon. High density buildings generate more revenue per square metre and those funds are vital to pay for the services we enjoy.
We also get the environmental benefit by avoiding urban sprawl allowing us to protect Saskatoon's natural ecosystems, such as the swale.
If the HAF is to succeed, we must take a serious look at the capacity of the utilities and the upgrade costs to service larger buildings.
I also support deadlines with steep fines for absentee landowners that allow properties in our city to become uninhabitable for people and overgrown with weeds and pests.
Land should provide people a necessary place to live or work.
Russell Nadin
The Low Emissions Community Plan (LECP) has very achievable goals for Saskatoon.
Environmental standards are often removed due to costs. The downtown library no longer pursuing LEED certification is an example.
I commit to LECP and to insisting environmental impacts are addressed, and not ignored.
Pages 12, 13, and 14 list the actions in the LECP .
Low Emissions Community Plan link:
www.saskatoon.ca/environmental-initiatives/energy-water/renewable-and-low-emissions-energy
Russell Nadin
I am opposed to the urban sprawl encroaching into the swale not only for the environmental impact but the financial as well.
Saskatoon needs compact and efficient utility and road networks to service our business and homes. Over extending our city's capacities is costly.
Russell Nadin
Amazing organizations such as the Open Door Society welcome and help integrate newcomers to Saskatoon.
It was with the Open Door Society that I experienced my first sweat at Linklater Sweat Lodge on Whitecap Dakota territory.
Unfortunately, it isn’t a surprise that Canadians still have cultural healing and improvements to be made.
When doing street interviews or door knocking as I campaign for ward 1 council, many newcomers to Canada have shared their shock at the racism and attitudes directed at indigenous people.
We must do more to integrate our indigenous relatives into Saskatoon. Land acknowledgements are a good start, but to avoid lip service we must take action.
It can't go unnoticed that approximately 95% of people experiencing homelessness are indigenous. The City of Saskatoon has a social and moral responsibility to alleviate the suffering of the people who shelter in our doorways during -40C snowstorms.
Homelessness in Saskatoon must be addressed for all our safety and wellbeing.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commision (TRC) and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) recommendations are great resources for ways Saskatoon can improve.
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls link:
https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/
The Truth and Reconciliation Commision link:
https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/truth-and-reconciliation-commission-of-canada/
Cancel Canada Day video link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2rs1nNujSI
Russell Nadin
I would prefer to renovate SaskTel Center at a fraction of the cost. SaskTel Center has access to multiple highways and special transit is frequently scheduled for events.
The downsides of SaskTel Center are the truck bays for loading / unloading, handicap accessibility to upper floors, and arena size. Renovating Sasktel Center also does nothing to increase TCU Place' capacity.
Large projects such as the downtown event and entertainment district (DEED) should be planned as assets generating income, not as liabilities. The projected costs have risen over the summer from $550 million to $900 million (June) to $1.2 billion (August).
I would support the DEED if several conditions are met:
1) Solid financial projections, just as we would have for a business plan, must be presented publicly (no in-camera meetings) to show the potential property tax revenue increases from surrounding properties. Even a SWOT analysis would be an improvement over current financial plans.
2) Premier Scott Moe with the province has talked about funding the DEED, but to secure federal funding we must also speak with Saskatoon's Members of Parliament (MPs).
3) OVG360 or any other selected facility operator or investor must have a representative at negotiations and council meetings that involve them.
4) Traffic and parking must be addressed. I would love to see Park And Ride incorporated into transit / BRT plans to alleviate restrictive parking downtown.
Traffic flow could improve dramatically downtown if Idylwyld and 25th street eliminated the congestion caused by so many traffic lights and left turns in such a condensed area.
Russell Nadin
The Lighthouse is in receivership, the 30 bed shelter in Sutherland quashed, tensions rise between STC’s shelter in Fairhaven and local residents, and Saskatoon’s unhoused / homeless population has increased into the thousands – we must act now.
Council must pressure the province to fulfil its responsibilities of housing and social services for Saskatoon citizens, properly consult residents, and follow up with shelters to meet our expectations.
It’s time ALL members of council close the distance between themselves and Saskatoon’s unhoused people.
I have toured and talked with Saskatoon’s shelters and many social outreach organisations with the goal of understanding the processes and supporting or improving if possible.
I will continue to patrol Saskatoon’s streets with Saskatoon Sage Clan, and be physically present and active where unhoused folk need assistance.
Outreach groups are vital to providing aid and increasing safety.