The race for Saskatoon mayor is now well and truly on, with (at press time) three candidates in the ring. Cary Tarasoff, who placed fourth out of six candidates in 2020, was first to announce — on April 1, “because we’ve been a fool for the last seven and a half years.” On June 10, Coun. Cynthia Block and former councillor and Sask. Party MLA Gordon Wyant joined the club within two hours of each other.

Unsurprisingly, all three candidates are expressing concerns about spending in one way or another. Among Block’s campaign pillars is “properly funding basic infrastructure” and Wyant wants to “rethink” how the city budget is set while creating a competitive economy. Tarasoff described Saskatoon taxpayers as “a bottomless pit of money for endless projects” that don’t benefit citizens. So to be fair, I entirely grasp the situation city council faces in trying to support a growing community also battling increasingly serious big-city issues, such as homelessness and addiction, and have you noticed our homicide rate so far this year? It’s horrifying. Generally, I think they’ve been doing a pretty good job. This is not easy. That said, I almost choked on a sip of water when I saw my most recent tax bill. While not trying to give you whiplash, I will now segue into a column I read in mid-June by Marsha Lederman of the Globe and Mail (I like her stuff a lot). It was funny and fascinating and a wee bit snarky. Indeed, I finished reading this piece not one hundred per cent sure of where she stands on this matter. And neither am I.

The column centred on an idea floated by Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who is seeking “innovative” ideas to offset the city’s $500-million infrastructure deficit while easing the property tax burden, as Lederman said. Saskatoon’s tax increase wiggled over six per cent. Vancouver’s was 7.5 per cent. Ouch. Especially in a place where property values are exorbitant. So apparently Sim said that it’s “absolutely crazy” that hospitals and universities are “naming their buildings left, right and centre and we have all these assets, all these parks.” Vancouver has “literally” hundreds of buildings and parks looking for naming sponsors, according to Sim. Well then. Saskatoon has already granted naming rights to facilities like SaskTel Centre and TCU Place. We also have Shaw Centre, thusly named in 2007 for a $1.3-million commitment (over 15 years, mind you) from the communications company. (Other leisure centres, however, have names like “Lakewood” and “Lawson” which, while pretty, are obviously still named for neighbourhoods.) Indeed, we also have the Remai Modern, our art gallery, and Nutrien Playland at Kinsmen Park. We have, in large part, become accustomed to attaching corporate names to our civic properties. Should this idea grow longer legs?

Citizens often object to this approach. It doesn’t feel very community-centred, perhaps; there’s a sense that the city is giving up control, or selling out, or some such thing. In addition, certain people in our municipal history deserve to be honoured by having places such as sports fields and streets named for them. But let’s take Saskatoon’s 200-plus parks, for example. Not for a moment would I want to see, for instance, Ashworth Holmes or Archibald Park being renamed; and it must be noted that most parks are named for good and/or famous humans. But what about, say, Pleasant Hill Park? Prairie Lily Park? Meadowlark Park? I’ll give you that SaskPower Park or Tim Hortons Park do not have quite the same ring . . . but what would you give up for, say, half a million bucks over 10 years? (I have no idea what naming rights go for these days. Just putting that number out there.) I’m not sure about street names, another possibility suggested by Lederman. But would Cameco Road or Canpotex Cove really go amiss in more industrial areas? Hmmm.

This is all coming from someone who was horrified when the Centennial Auditorium was no longer-so named. Yet the corporate naming convention for public buildings and parks has been around for ages now, and I suppose it hasn’t killed any of us yet. Is it a legitimate opportunity to plump up city coffers? Perhaps some of this has been tried, behind the scenes, with less success than one might hope. I do not know. But Vancouver’s mayor, faced with similar but larger problems than Saskatoon, seems to think expanding naming rights is worth a shot. It would certainly be easier to pull off in a big city . . . but ours is growing, so might it work?

I don’t think I’d complain too loudly about corporate naming conventions if I saw a two per cent property tax increase instead of six. I leave it for you, and the mayoral candidates, to ponder.

-Joanne Paulson