Politics

A long road to reunite a Pakistani boy with his adoptive parents in Saskatoon is hitting yet another road block.

The investigation into the RM of Sherwood and its massive Wascana Village proposal is being expanded, and a closer look will be taken into the conduct of the municipality.

Saskatoon city councillor Randy Donauer hopes to make the jump from city hall to parliament hill next year.

The Ward 5 councillor was officially named the Conservative candidate for Saskatoon-West riding for next year’s federal election. 2015 will be the first federal election with the new boundary lines drawn.

“I’ve really been enjoying my time in municipal government and to be honest I’ve had several people ask if I would consider representing them in Ottawa because I think they would feel comfortable as a representative,” Donauer said.

City councillors and the mayor in Saskatoon earn more than the elected officials in Regina.

For what’s considered a part-time job, councillors in the Queen City earn $35,697 per year, while the same position in Saskatoon earns $53,867. Mayor Don Atchison earns $119,171 plus $27,000 in expenses while his counterpart in Regina, Mayor Michael Fougere earns $106,680.

As the bodies of those killed when a Malaysia Airlines plane was shot down finally leave the war zone in east Ukraine en route to the Netherlands, the European Union has imposed new sanctions against Russian officials believed to be contributing to problems in the area.

When it comes to the City of Regina's pension woes, the mayor's response is, they're working on it.
 
Mayor Michael Fougere said they've been asked to have a decision by the end of the year.
 
"I think that that will focus the energy of all parties to come to a conclusion to keep the pension moving forward."
 
On Friday the province told the city that unless it fixed the contribution problems and resulting $290 million deficit, then it would cancel the city's pension plan.
 

The world lost one its best known leaders last December, but on Friday, people across Saskatoon celebrated Nelson Mandela's legacy.
 
July 18 hosted the inaugural International Nelson Mandela Day. Youth around the city spent the day learning about his beliefs and created posters to present as they walked from Indian and Métis Friendship Centre to City Hall.
 

Construction is expected to start in the 2014 building season on twinning Highway 16 between Saskatoon and the Village of Clavet.

With many communities looking for the province to do work near them, Highways and Infrastructure Minister Nancy Heppner said many factors went into picking the project. 

"Primarily, my concern is safety... obviously our top priority is safety. (The project) also increases efficency," she said at a joint federal-provincial funding announcement Thursday.