Community Care Fundraiser

One last try to keep the doors open.

This past year has been a roller-coaster and yet we are still (somewhat) standing thanks to your support and your belief in this shop. 

Today (Oct 10th 2024) the City of Saskatoon fined us over $18,000. This fine is due to not obtaining a building permit which resulted in the denial of our business license being successfully updated. Our business license therefore lapsed and we were operating without a valid business license from the City of Saskatoon. We were not notified of this until a court summons was issued four months ago, upon which we took immediate action to remedy the situation by obtaining the required building permit and license. 

According to the City of Saskatoon bylaws, the city is not required to notify you of an infraction regarding the business bylaws. 

Despite fighting the charge on the basis that the City of Saskatoon failed to answer our email inquiries, failed to notify us of the infraction, that immediate action was taken to remedy the situation as soon as we became aware, and that the fine amount is a fine far above what we can pay as a small local business, we didn’t win our case.

I understand this bylaw was breached,  but I am somewhat left without words as it seems a very harsh punishment for a lapsed business licence and leaves us feeling hopeless. 

We, alongside many other local small businesses, are barely hanging on during these tough economic times. 

With this decision today, we simply cannot keep the doors open without some type of help.

Before we give up, our team has brainstormed a project to help us get through the next few months while also serving the needs of our neighbourhood. 

We would like to host a fundraiser selling much needed supplies for the humans in our community who are currently going without (i.e. clean undergarments, warm socks, winter gear, and feminine supplies).The funds made will help us pay the fine while allowing us to help our community stay safe and warm as winter approaches.

If you have feedback, ideas, or experiences you can share with us, please reach out. We do feel we serve an important purpose in Riversdale and hope we can make it through this one. Email: info@thelittlemarketbox.com