Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block to give ‘state of the city’ address

(Keenan Sorokan / CTV News)

Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block will give her annual “state of the city” address to business leaders today.

It’s an opportunity for Block to set goals for the coming months, and to put her best foot forward for the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce, after a year that’s brought little resolution to some pressing city issues.

After last year’s speech, Chamber of Commerce CEO Jason Aebig told reporters it was time for Block to “shift from ambition to action.”

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Today, she steps up to the podium in a comparable position.

The new “fiscal framework” with the federal government she campaigned on has never materialized. The city’s rapid transit system is facing a major roadblock after changes to 1st Avenue downtown drew an outcry from businesses on the street.

And the most intractable issue of all — homelessness — has only gotten worse.

However, Block has noted improvements in the city’s relationship with the province and its approach to social services over the past year.

The city is also phasing-in transit police this year to mitigate social disorder on city buses as it prepares to launch Link in 2028. The transit police are expected to be fully operational in 2027,

CTV News will have a report on the state of the city following the speech on Thursday afternoon.

With files from Keenan Sorokan