In your mind, what is the most important consideration for the new mayor and council when it comes to guiding the city through the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic hardships? (question posed by Alex MacPherson of the StarPhoenix to all mayoral candidates)
The most important consideration at this time is to stop unnecessary debt-taking. Any and all other responses to this pandemic are surely to require change and manpower or an outlay of resources. Both of which require funding. The significance of the pandemic seems to be lost on our current mayor and a lot of the current council. Perhaps in their normal lives, this is only a slightly significant issue, but they have lost track of the overall effect on the general population of the city of Saskatoon. And that would be the civilian population and business. If Charlie Clark wants “citizens to be proud of every tax dollar spent and to see the result in a city that has efficient services and great quality of life”, he needs to get the basic things right, like sidewalks, transit and affordable housing. Taking on large debt for associated construction projects when the cost of those projects can explode due to the actual COVID-19 restrictions is irresponsible.