Letters: Saskatoon city hall must protect residents from shoddy infill

On April 24th, I was allowed to speak to Saskatoon city council about the new accelerator funding related to accessory suites and garage suites. I am thankful that we have a municipal government that allows residents to speak for five minutes to add voices from the community.

Many speakers spoke in support of the bylaw amendments because it would provide them with perceived tangible benefits. Construction industry representatives obviously spoke in favour. Nobody spoke to represent the adjacent neighbour(s) negatively impacted by these backyard rental structures.

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As a Saskatoon resident that has needed to protect his home from poor engineering designs and house-flipping neighbours, there needs to be more protection for neighbours, especially in existing neighbourhoods. Some residential lots have sewer service in the front and others are in the back alley.

The underground utility connection process, construction methods and risk of damage will vary.

If these accessory suites are going to be forced onto neighbours without any fiscal benefit, the least that the city can do is to ensure that the construction bylaws are updated to ensure that minimum impact practices are mandated to mitigate the risk of vibration damage.

If a neighbour suffers property damage and seeks to resolve the issue in the courts, the courts rely on the Saskatoon construction bylaws to determine if the standard of care was breached.

If high-impact practices are allowed, the courts will not protect neighbours that suffer damages from these accessory units and garage suites.

Douglas Tompson, Saskatoon

MPs to benefit from election date change

The stage is set. The date of the next federal election could be moved from Oct. 20 to Oct. 27 next year if a proposed change is passed. The reasoning behind the date change reads like a list of excuses.

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The date change will ensure that the election does not conflict with the start of Diwali, a Hindi religious festival running several days and celebrated by millions in Canada. The new date also avoids conflicting with Alberta’s municipal elections.

Buried in the bureaucracy surrounding the proposed change is that if the election remained as scheduled on Oct. 20, 80 members of parliament would miss the six-year service mark, which is the required years to qualify for a lifetime government pension.

Moving the date could cost taxpayers $120 million, according to the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Working-class people pre-plan their work life, up to and including a plan for retirement. When one chooses a career in politics, there are no guarantees. It is up to the individual who has chosen this path to plan accordingly — not doctor the rules of the land for financial gain.

One could venture to say with the election some 18 months away that our prime minister, Justin Trudeau, is aware of his pending defeat and is intent on lining the pockets of his entourage, accomplishing this on the backs of Canadian taxpayers.

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These same taxpayers have endured scandals linked to the federal government like SNC-Lavalin, WE Charity and the ArriveCAN app. And now this!

Martin Been, Saskatoon

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