Saskatoon City Council is questioning whether the sample sizes of the Civic Services and Satisfaction surveys are large enough to represent the city’s true opinions and values.
Three-hundred and ninety-eight randomly selected people responded to the Satisfaction survey, and 301 respondents gave insight on the Services Performance Survey. These figures equate to about 0.1 per cent of Saskatoon’s total population of 306,000.
Director of Communications Carla Blumers says the City set out to get 800 respondents, but the research partner warned them that it would be a challenge. However, as far as reflecting the values of the City, Blumers says the survey is a valid source of information.
“Margin of errors for perception surveys generally range from about two to five per cent. Right now, we’re at about 4.91 per cent on that survey, which gives us a pretty good confidence levels that we could apply that and generalize it to the population.”
Blumers estimated these surveys cost the City around $25,000 to conduct.
Survey responses indicate that 82 per cent of which are satisfied with living in the city, a 2-percentage point decrease from 2024. When asked what actions the City could take to improve their quality of life, 46 per cent said to address homelessness/affordable housing, while another 25 per cent said to improve public safety and reduce crime.
Also, 63 per cent of respondents would make monthly financial contributions to support initiatives that address homelessness. Of that 63 per cent who would agree to pay, 31 per cent would chip in $5-$9 per month, and 28 per cent would pay $15 or more.
These figures concerned several City Councilors, including Ward 3 councilor Robert Pearce, who stated “What I hear from my constituents is vastly different from the results of this survey.” He says charging residents a fee to support homeless initiatives would blur the lines of responsibility of all levels of government, and he questions how a fee like that would be divvied out amongst residents.
“Thirdly, if people are willing to give so much money per month to help in homelessness, why aren’t they already donating to the various partners that deal in this?”
Pearce had a hard time believing the survey outcome, so he decided to conduct his own survey among members of his ward. Among 148 responses to the same question regarding fees, he says 98 per cent of people said no.
He says Ward 3 residents have already been paying significant fees for homelessness in the form of losses, damages, vandalism, and clean-up fees.
Committee Chair Troy Davies says he has huge concerns with giving the province an ‘out’ on the backs of taxpayers.
