Proposed tax hike in Saskatoon draws criticism from pundits
Tax increases proposed on Wednesday for Saskatoon’s next multi-year budget are drawing criticism from the business community.
The proposed increases are intended to address a funding gap of more than $52 million in 2024 and another $23 million in 2025. The city's chief financial officer called it “pretty unprecedented.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the city needs to adopt a culture of cutting and saving money. Spokesperson Todd MacKay suggests city councillors may have to prepare for painful cuts.
“A big part of the problem is that the government is not looking for ways to save money, it needs to do more work to do that. Thats the fundamental problem, and before they even floated this number, they needed to gain some credibility by making some tough decisions like every single family has done in their home budgets,” said MacKay.
Mayor Charlie Clark defended the city’s position in an interview with CTV Morning Live, citing residual costs from the pandemic, and weakened buying power from inflation that accounts for more than $30 million in the budget deficit.
Clark does say that closing the funding gap will likely result in noticeable cuts in services.
“The challenge is we’ve already been trying to lean down the city, and we’re already the most competitive city when it comes to commercial taxes in the country, for example,” said Clark.
“We don’t have a lot of room to cut without having an impact on citizens in their day to day life.”
The Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce says inflation can’t be the only issue, since cities with the same challenges like Edmonton and Calgary have run a budget surplus.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.