BHP has made Saskatoon its North American headquarters.  The announcement was made recently after the mining giant moved from its office on 3^rd Avenue South to River Quarry in downtown Saskatoon, which is the old police station.  Cameco, the second largest uranium mining company in the world has its headquarters in Saskatoon.  This is the time when Saskatoon needs to be attractive for home buyers, or people simply wanting to live here in order to work here. But the recent tax hikes the city has determined for the next two years doesn’t increase the city’s attractiveness.  Some of the highest ever seen in the city’s history.  And don’t get me wrong, I believe City Council worked very hard to bring those numbers down – they even went into a fourth unscheduled day of deliberations.  But I don’t love higher utility and user fee rates for power, water and wastewater services.  It will cost more to go to the zoo and more for a family pass at leisure centres.  However, I do applaud decisions such as pulling City funding from the detox unit on Avenue O South. Which is run by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. I hope the goal for this city council is to make the lines between what the city needs to do for its citizens and what is actually the province’s responsibility becomes less blurry.