Mayoral candidate highlights affordability and infill housing in her platform

Mayoral candidate for Saskatoon, Cynthia Block, says if she is elected, she will continue to champion her key priorities from her eight years as Ward 6 Councillor – affordability, including multi-family infill, affordable and attainable housing, and an efficient and reliable transit system. She explains that expanding to new neighbourhoods rather than infill means expanding the cost because of needing new roads and underground infrastructure.

Block also touched on the issue of homelessness, saying the police, fire and EMS are trying to guide those who are homeless to supports, but the solution needs to be more proactive than reactive. She explains that policing right now takes up almost a quarter of every single taxpayer’s dollar, which isn’t sustainable, so a safe community needs to be built from the ground up. “And how do we do that? We make sure everyone is safely housed. That’s a critical, foundational piece, and I wish and hope that as we move forward we can work closely with the provincial government so that we are in lock-step to help people and also try to lower costs.”

Block is advocating for a new national strategy when it comes to funding. She gives the example of a fire engine which the City bought in 2020 at a cost of $800,000. That same truck now costs more than double that at $1.8 million. That’s one of the reasons why she believes cities are shouldering a disproportionate burden of inflation, so Block is calling for a new deal with Ottawa to create a more efficient procurement strategy. The mayoral candidate gives the example of partnering with municipalities on bulk buying. Block also believes that the federal government should have baseline funding for things like transit.

Two Camponi Housing representatives are supporting Cynthia Block in her bid to become Saskatoon’s next mayor. Angela Bishop is Chair of the Joint Oversight Committee of Camponi Housing, which oversees the construction of an affordable housing project in Blairmore. She and Desiree Chartier, Chair of Camponi Housing, say that Canada is in a housing crisis and as Metis women they recognize the critical importance of having advocates for supportive housing to work collaboratively with all levels of government. Bishop added, “Especially among communities who have been historically marginalized and disadvantaged. We see the effects of the lack of affordable and supportive housing on Indigenous peoples.

As of Monday morning, four people have put in their nomination papers for Mayor – Don Atchison, Cynthia Block, Mike Harder and Cary Tarasoff. Gordon Wyant has publicly announced he is running, but hasn’t filed yet. Nominations are accepted up until 4 p.m. on Wednesday.