SaskatoonA Saskatoon city council committee Wednesday unanimously approved examining what other municipalities do when it comes to charging higher fees for people who live outside the city to use civic recreational facilities.City council committee backs looking at fee change for pools, rinksPhil Tank · CBC News · Posted: Oct 14, 2025 3:15 PM EDT | Last Updated: October 16Ward 9 Coun. Bev Dubois has proposed taking a look at charging higher fees for people who live outside Saskatoon to use city-owned recreational facilities such as pools and rinks. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)Residents who live outside Saskatoon could one day pay more to swim in city-owned pools or skate at city-owned rinks.On Wednesday, a city council committee unanimously approved examining what other municipalities do when it comes to charging higher fees for people who live outside the city to use civic recreational facilities.Chief financial officer Clae Hack pointed out that last week, Regina city council passed a 50 per cent surcharge to register for programs like swimming lessons for people who live outside Regina city limits.Ward 9 Coun. Bev Dubois proposed the idea of taking a look at what other cities do when it comes to out-of-towners.“I’m just looking at, moving forward, some fairness, I guess, if you would, in our leisure services,” Dubois told the governance and priorities committee. She asked city hall bureaucrats to look throughout Western Canada for examples of two-tiered fees for residents and non-residents.Dubois said she expected to have some ideas for changes to fees based on what the report says. City administration will also look at collaborative funding arrangements between municipalities.Saskatoon is taking a look at what other cities in Western Canada do in terms of the fees charged to out-of-town residents to use civic facilities such as pools. (Jennifer Quesnel/CBC News)Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer stressed the possibility of collaborative funding, suggesting that talk of higher fees could send an unfortunate message to regional communities such as the cities of Warman and Martensville and the Rural Municipality of Corman Park.Donauer pointed out that many youth hockey teams from Saskatoon play and practise on rinks outside the city.“So I think we also have to be careful what we start because somebody else might finish it,” Donauer said.Eleven years ago, former councillor Tiffany Paulsen asked for preferential treatment for Saskatoon residents when registering for city-run recreational programs. A bid to establish priority for Saskatoon residents failed on a tied vote in 2014.A city report back then revealed that 21 per cent of children registered for swimming lessons at Saskatoon pools lived outside the city.Greenhouse gapAlso at Wednesday’s committee meeting, council members heard that Saskatoon city hall is badly missing its greenhouse gas reduction targets.The city’s low emissions community plan,which was established in 2020, set a goal to reduce carbon dioxide equivalent gases by 217,100 tonnes by 2027 through the introduction of projects designed to lower greenhouse gases.A city report said projects stemming from the plan have only reduced emissions by 54,200 tonnes, which means the reduction target has fallen short by 75 per cent.An illustration of the Dundonald solar farm, which is expected to reduce electricity emissions in Saskatoon by almost 20,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over its 30-year lifetime. It is expected to be up and running by the end of the year. (City of Saskatoon)Projects include solar panels and increased energy efficiency at city facilities, a new electric ice resurfacer and the new organic waste collection service for apartments and townhouses.“There’s a significant gap between our target and what we’re meeting,” Ward 6 Coun. Jasmin Parker said.City hall administration will explore ways to close the gap between the target and actual reductions, the committee heard.City council will consider a climate budget as part of two-year budget talks at the end of November.The controversial low emissions community plan proposed spending $19 billion — and saving $33.6 billion — to reduce emissions over 30 years through various projects and partnerships.Print passSaskatoon city hall is set to abandon its long-established tradition of printing public notices in newspapers.The committee, which includes all councillors and the mayor, unanimously supported changes to the rules governing public notices, including removing the requirement that some notices be published in a newspaper.A report from city administration says city hall spent $168,198 advertising in newspapers last year. Cities like Calgary, Vancouver and Leduc, Alta., have stopped publishing public notices in newspapers, the report adds.But Regina, Moose Jaw and Prince Albert all require some notices to be published in newspapers, according to the city’s research.The report cites the decline in newspaper readership as the reason for the change. Saskatoon’s bylaw on public notice, which dates back to 2003, went beyond what is required under provincial law, which does not require public notices be published in newspapers, the report says.ABOUT THE AUTHORPhil Tank is a journalist in Saskatoon.
Saskatoon eyes higher fees for out-of-towners to use recreational facilities
