Companies looking to partner with the city on a proposed arena district and its facilities won't be required to provide a "living wage" as part of their proposals.
At Wednesday's governance and priorities committee, city councillors discussed adding such a requirement into the procurement process from any private operator tied to the downtown event and entertainment district.
City of Saskatoon technical services director Dan Willems had concerns with the requirement, specifically around the vague term of what a "living wage" is, and how such a stipulation could significantly affect the request for proposals (RFP) process.
"Administration is proposing that this item be addressed during the negotiation phase of the procurement," Willems said to councillors. "It's felt that including this as a minimum requirement in the RFP could carry significant additional cost and possibly unexpected implications.
"Working with the preferred proponent during the negotiation phase is felt that it will give us the best opportunity to discuss and develop options with the proponent."
Saskatchewan raised its minimum wage to $14 an hour in October 2023, which is the lowest among all Canadian provinces. Though a "living wage" could conceivably pay much higher wages than that.
Ward 2 Coun. Hilary Gough passed a motion to include a quality job and wage component to the RFP, but as a point of discussion and not a mandated requirement.
Administration will finalize the wording for before council votes on final approval of the RFP terms later this month.
"If we intend for this to be privately operated we need to be playing ball with that operator," Gough said. "This needs to be set as an expectation there.
"I believe that it should be in the criteria at least as a starting point for the conversation so that we don't lose it and don't leave it until the end of the process."
Ward 3 Coun. David Kirton reminded his colleagues that a living wage isn't likely to financially doom the project.
"We're talking about a living wage. Anything less is less than a living wage," Kirton said.
"All we are looking for with Coun. Gough's motion is what the bidder's approach to creating this would be. I'm very concerned that if we don't do this, it gets lost in the negotiations."
Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer, who voted against the motion alongside Ward 1 Coun. Darren Hill, said he doesn't believe some of the many hundreds of temporary workers who perform tasks like preparing the bleachers between a concert and a hockey game need to be making a "living wage" because requiring such a thing would "handcuff" the RFP process.
"I think we'd be better off negotiating something along those lines," Donauer said.
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Donauer harkened back to when River Landing stood empty for years as "Parcel Y," a long undeveloped piece of land on the river banks because the city added requirements like a living wage to the planning process.
"The reason why Parcel Y didn't get developed and all the other buildings around it went up was because we meddled," he said. "The Downtown in Saskatoon was booming while the property we put all these restrictions on sat there, and we got no property taxes on it for years."
The RFP process will now seek a private firm to partially fund construction of the new district in exchange for profits earned from operating the new venues anchoring the proposed development.
Bidders will be evaluated on certain criteria, including how much money they are willing to offer up, marketing and sponsorships and other community benefits, like training and employment opportunities for “equity-deserving” groups like women and members of visible minorities, if the process is finalized at a council meeting later this month.
So far, the city has issued a request for qualifications to vet potential bidders; Willems said two companies are expected to bid on the RFP when it’s issued, and he hopes for more partners in the coming weeks.
The committee also heard an update on the proposed district.
Council will vote next month on a conceptual design and another vote in April on a funding strategy. The city could then ask Ottawa and the province for money to support the proposal, and those votes could go a long way to determining the fate of the district.
City manager Jeff Jorgenson said the upcoming votes on the arena district in the coming weeks and months could indicate council’s intent to approve the project once the funding is lined up.
