News Releases

“In a year when people are feeling particularly cooped up and restless, getting outdoors and experiencing nature is a great way to relieve stress, get exercise, and lift spirits,” says Katie Burns, Sustainability Manager at the City of Saskatoon. “And while we certainly encourage outdoor activities, we, in partnership with Meewasin, have a few tips for ensuring that we are protecting our natural areas as well as our wildlife and their sensitive habitats.”

1. Stay on designated trails and paths when hiking, snowshoeing, skiing, or biking (snow is habitat for many creatures)
2. Stay away from naturalized ponds that are not designated for skating
3. ATVs, snowmobiles, dirt bikes and other motorized vehicles are not allowed in natural areas. If witnessed, please report to police communications at 306-975-8300.
4. Leave areas the way you find them. Don’t litter, dump, leave materials behind or remove any private property.

“Many regions of the Meewasin Valley contain significant ecosystems and habitat,” says Mike Velonas, Manager of Planning and Conservation at Meewasin. “Whether it’s prairie, forest, wetland, or river, many animals depend upon spaces like the Meewasin Northeast Swale, Saskatoon Natural Grasslands, and Beaver Creek Conservation Area to survive. While we encourage folks to explore and connect with nature, we ask you to remember these tips to help Meewasin conserve important habitat and protect biodiversity.”

For more information on how to safely enjoy outdoor activities please see the following resources:

• City of Saskatoon’s list of ponds designated for recreational use
• Water Security Agency of Saskatchewan’s  guidelines on ice thickness
• City of Saskatoon’s winter events & activities webpage

The Meewasin Valley Authority exists to ensure a healthy and vibrant river valley, with a balance between human use and conservation. To get involved or learn more, visit: meewasin.com

Mild temperatures over the past couple of days are creating deep ruts on some residential streets. City and contractor crews are shifting their focus to shaving down the deep ruts where people are getting stuck or there’s a risk of damage to vehicles.

Beginning this evening, graders will start to shave the top layers of ruts on residential streets with severe rutting and store the snow in the parking lane. Snow removal may only occur in areas where there is no room to store the snow.

“To open up these streets quickly for residents, we need to move fast,” says Terry Schmidt, General Manager of Construction and Transportation. “Colder temperatures are coming soon which will make grading harder for us.”

Grading will be done by neighbourhood starting on the streets where the ruts are at least 15 centimetres deep, making it challenging for smaller vehicles. We will go around parked cars but encourage people to move vehicles if there is off-street parking available.

On streets with heavy on-street parking that are too narrow for our equipment, we will post No Parking signs in advance and relocate vehicles left on the street.

The work will occur day and night and we hope to complete all severely rutted streets within the next two weeks. This may be extended if there is a snow event that requires some staff to address priority street grading.

While grader operators attempt to keep driveways unobstructed, short snow ridges may be left behind. The location may be inspected for clearing if it completely blocks a vehicle from accessing the driveway.

Starting tomorrow, regular updates will be provided on saskatoon.ca/snow with neighbourhood locations. Note that grading will accommodate garbage and recycling collection schedules. Thank you for your patience and leaving space for our operators and equipment to safely do their work.

The City identified the need for a permanent outdoor festival site to assist festivals and events with their programming while also protecting green infrastructure (trees and grass) from re-occurring damage. After an extensive feasibility study and stakeholder engagement, an Approval Report will be presented to the Governance and Priorities Committee at its meeting on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. The report articulates a vision for the future of hosting outdoor special events in Saskatoon, recommends a preferred site location and provides a functional concept plan for development of the area.

“Saskatoon is renowned for its festivals and events,” says Lynne Lacroix, General Manager of Community Services. “From music festivals to celebrations of local food and record-setting snowball fights, the amount, variety and scale of events in the city is important to the cultural, social and economic life of Saskatoon. Against the backdrop of the South Saskatchewan river, a permanent site will allow events four seasons of the year and provide event planners and the tourism industry stability in planning world-class events.”

The Approval Report includes:

• The technical and engagement processes that led to the preferred site selection;

• An extensive concept plan; and,

• Cost, risk and budgetary analysis.

Should Council approve the concept plan for the Permanent Downtown Festival Site, development of the full vision for the Site would need to be completed in phases. Phase 1, totaling $2 million, will be funded by the Municipal Economic Enhancement Program and construction will begin in Spring 2021.

“Phase 1 will provide us with a great site that will be a gathering place for Saskatoon,” says Lacroix. “The remaining phases can be constructed over time, pending future budget and funding considerations and approval.”

Further information, including the concept plan and engagement summary, is available on the City’s engagement website.

At a Special Meeting of City Council this morning, Council approved a number of resolutions to guide the City’s response to COVID-19 in the community and continue to protect the health and safety of residents, customers and employees once provincial Public Health Orders are lifted later this month.  

Council approved the removal of Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination or Negative Test Requirements for City of Saskatoon facilities when the Government of Saskatchewan rescinds the “Public Health Order Proof of COVID-19 Vaccination or Negative Test”, effective Monday, February 14.

Council unanimously recommitted to keeping in place the requirement that all residents and visitors accessing all City facilities, including when travelling on Saskatoon Transit, wear a mask upon the rescission of the existing “Public Health Order Mandatory Isolation and Face Covering” by the provincial government, which is anticipated to occur at the end of February.

Council also directed that Administration continue to provide masks for patrons of Saskatoon Transit, and report back on ways to increase enforcement or conflict resolution support on Transit in regards to the use of masks before the end of the month.  

Further, Council has requested that the Administration provide a report to Governance and Priorities Committee (GPC) on a monthly basis, starting in March 2022, providing a written COVID update that includes a recommendation on whether to continue the requirement of masking for all persons accessing all City facilities.

For the latest updates, visit saskatoon.ca/covid-19. 

Diverting edible items from the landfill to improve food security is an easy cause to support. Removing the barriers to make it happen, however, can be complicated.

A new joint study by the University of Saskatchewan (USask) and the City of Saskatoon, Promising Practices in Food Reclamation in Saskatoon, found ways to minimize the food being discarded.

The project took place through Research Junction, an innovative partnership between the city and the university. Research Junction awards funding to projects that apply advanced research methods to address current issues in Saskatoon.

Rachel Engler-Stringer of USask’s Community-University Institute for Social Research was a lead researcher on the project.

The team performed a survey of best practices in food diversion, and gathered information from a wide variety of stakeholders, including food retailers and organizations on the front lines of providing food to clients in Saskatoon.

Once they understood the logistical and infrastructure barriers to diverting food, researchers developed recommendations to address this widespread issue. It is estimated one-third of the food produced worldwide and 30-40 percent of all food produced in Canada annually is wasted or lost.

“We tried to make it very practical,” said Engler-Stringer, who is also associate professor in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology at USask’s College of Medicine. “I hope that a number of our recommendations will be taken up and there will be significant change in Saskatoon.”

In particular, she would like to see a food recovery association created in partnership with governments, as well as a social enterprise established to “upcycle” or transform surplus food for other uses.

Farhad Lashgarara, who was a principal researcher for the study, said it is necessary to both create ways to divert food from landfills and provide disincentives for simply discarding it.

“It is now easier to just throw things away,” he said. “We need to change that equation.”

Other recommendations include a public awareness campaign, the use of phone food diversion apps, and inclusion of food diversion in city planning processes.

This initiative aligns with Saskatoon’s Solid Waste Reduction and Diversion Plan that provides clear actions the city can take to produce less waste and recycle and compost most of it. The report was presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services on Monday, February 7, 2022.

“With these two strategies coordinated, the city is looking toward the next steps to act on their recommendations,” said Jeanna South, Director of Sustainability for the City of Saskatoon. “The upcoming regulation for businesses to start diverting the food waste they generate in 2023 presents an opportunity to encourage reduction and redistribution of food that otherwise would become waste, thus saving disposal costs while benefiting our community and environment.”

The full report can be found here: https://cuisr.usask.ca/publications.php