News Releases

Saskatoon is in full winter mode. Almost 3 centimetres of snow fell Sunday and Monday, temperatures have dropped, and people are re-learning how to navigate winter driving conditions. Almost as instantly, City road maintenance operations switched from street sweeping and pothole patching to plowing and sanding.

“City crews work seven days a week, prepared for whatever weather heads our way,” says Brandon Harris, Director of Roadways & Operations. “When it snows, we have up to 29 sanders, 16 graders and 14 plows focussed on keeping high-traffic roads in good winter driving condition.”

Additional resources and P3 contractors are also all ready to keep the new infrastructure clear this winter. With two bridges, including the extension of Central Avenue and McOrmond Drive and two interchanges, more than 21 kilometres of new roadway was opened up this summer to traffic.

Once the snow stops falling, graders clear the driving lanes on priority 1, 2 and 3 streets and in school zones, windrows of snow are removed in Business Improvement Districts, and specialized equipment is used to clear dedicated bike lanes and high-traffic walkways. Snow windrows are removed periodically through winter to prevent visibility issues for drivers and sidewalk users.

“Each year, we push ourselves to find a better way or test a product that makes managing snow and fighting ice smoother and faster,” says Harris. “This year we’re following Switzerland’s lead and testing wood chips to improve traction on ice. We’ve also improved our technique for keeping bridge decks and overpasses clear of any snow build-up.”

As City operations work to prevent icing, improve traction and clear snow, drivers have to play a leading role in their own safety by adjusting driving habits in winter. Important safety habits include clearing snow from all windows, leaving extra distance between you and the car in front, and reducing your speed. Find more winter driving and safety tips at saskatoon.ca/winterdriving.  

“The people operating the road equipment are important. They are colleagues, family and friends to someone – maybe someone you know,” says Harris. “Please slow down when you see their flashing blue lights and let them do their job.”

Snow What to Do this winter by visiting saskatoon.ca/snow. During a snow event (5 centimetres or more snow fall), find timely updates at saskatoon.ca/service-alerts and follow @YXEServiceAlert on Twitter.

With the colder temperatures setting in, grizzly bears Mistaya (miss‑TIE’‑yuh) and Koda (KOH’-dah) are well on their way to beginning their third hibernation at the Saskatoon Forestry Farm Park & Zoo (Zoo).

Preparation for the bears’ hibernation has been underway for several weeks.  The Zoo has worked closely with fRI Research and wildlife nutritionists to carefully monitor the bears leading into hibernation.

“We are very excited to see that Mistaya and Koda are continuing to follow a normal weight gain and loss cycle as they prepare to enter their third hibernation,” said Tim Sinclair-Smith, Zoo Manager.  “As their bodies continue to adjust to an annual hibernation schedule, we are closely monitoring and comparing Mistaya and Koda’s weight each year to that of their wild counterparts.”

At their current weight, the Zoo is predicting the bears will lose about 150 kilograms each year during hibernation.  Mistaya and Koda are currently weighing in at approximately 355 and 340 kilograms, respectively.

Cameras will once again be live in the hibernation dens so that the Zoo can closely monitor behavior, activity levels, and breathing patterns.  A live camera feed found at saskatoon.ca/zoo will also be available for Saskatoon residents to check on Mistaya and Koda throughout their hibernation.

For more information on the Zoo, please visit saskatoon.ca/zoo.

Any upcoming work to plan for the future of Downtown Saskatoon should consider an arena in the Central Business District. A report to be considered Tuesday by the Governance and Priorities Committee outlines the suggested course.

“As we’ve been asked to do, we carefully reviewed the analysis of whether to renovate or to build new event and convention facilities,” says Director of Planning and Development, Lesley Anderson.

“Considering all factors, the Administration concludes that any future Downtown planning should be developed with the option of a future Arena construction in mind.”

The report points to potential combined benefits between an arena-convention centre and with other Downtown amenities such as restaurants, hotels, and a vibrant shopping district.

“There will need to be a further analysis of Downtown infrastructure,” Anderson says.

“Next we have to explore the effects of any new facilities on roads, parking, water, sewer and how to mitigate potential impacts.”

Additionally, the report outlines future City Councils will have to weigh the benefits of a downtown location, and its role as a catalyst for development against other community goals.

Another report outlines high-level information about what funding may or may not be possible.

“This analysis is not intended to provide funding strategy for such a project,” says Chief Financial Officer, Kerry Tarasoff. “We want the Committee to have some information and to highlight what some of those financing options could look like.”

A number of convention centres have been built in Canada since 2010, and on average, about 25 per cent of the funding came from the municipality.

Since 2005, in cities without NHL teams, on average about 60 per cent of the funding for arenas or stadiums has been funded by the municipality – as is the case with Mosaic Stadium in Regina (62.2%).

Funding of large arena, stadium or convention centre projects include various sources of funds; borrowing remains the largest component and several repayment possibilities are also explained.

City Council approved the adoption of a new purchasing policy at its October 22, 2018 meeting, the measure recommended by the Standing Policy Committee on Finance.

The new policy, which takes effect December 1, 2018, now reflects best practices for public procurement, and brings the City’s policy into compliance with trade treaty obligations. It draws on criteria from federal and provincial procurement rules and will use ‘best value’ rather than lowest price in the procurement of civic goods and services for the City.

A highlight of the new policy is that purchases made in accordance with an approved budget and within the authority of the policy provisions, will now be delegated to the Administration for the awarding of contracts and purchase orders rather than City Council.

With an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement and transparency, a procurement review was conducted over the past year, presenting the City with opportunities to:

• identify any gaps in the procurement process;
• document all current purchasing processes;
• provide greater transparency for vendors;
• give clear direction for City employees on common standards to be used consistently for the majority of purchases made by the City; and
• provide consistency across the organization by developing new templates and contracts.

As part of the procurement review, engagement opportunities were provided to external and internal stakeholders through the City’s website and in-person meetings asking for their feedback and recommendations on the draft purchasing policy, new procurement manual, templates and standard contracts. An engagement workshop was also conducted to gather feedback on the expansion of the new policy for the future inclusion of social and Indigenous procurement best practices.

Administration will continue to monitor and make amendments to various protocols as required, including at the request of City Council, adding new engagement opportunities to support the future inclusion of environmental best practices for procurement at the City.

The City’s new procurement policy will ensure equal access to all qualified suppliers.

Visit saskatoon.ca/engage for future engagement opportunities.

Yellow Quill First Nation announced today the successful creation of a new urban reserve in downtown Saskatoon.  Yellow Quill First Nation received notification from the Government of Canada of the successful status change for the property located at 224 4^th Avenue South.  The building is home to the First Nations Bank of Canada and is located adjacent to Yellow Quill First Nation’s original urban reserve in Saskatoon, located at 240 4^th Avenue South.

“Attaining urban reserve status where our office tower is located in downtown Saskatoon is an important milestone for our nation,” says Yellow Quill Chief John Machiskinic.  “The designation of reserve status will support us in securing additional tenants who value an on-reserve location in a major downtown centre.  It also provides another source of revenue to assist us in funding various initiatives for our members living both on and off reserve.  We are proud to celebrate this achievement today.”

“For the past 30 years, the City of Saskatoon has been working with First Nations across the province to create urban reserves,” says Mayor Charlie Clark.  “This is a point of pride for our city, as we work with our First Nations partners to help lead the country in forging a new and positive relationship and to build a stronger Saskatoon.  I would like to thank the leadership and community of Yellow Quill First Nation for investing in Saskatoon with this urban reserve and for their commitment to working together with our community.”

The Honourable Jane Philpott, Minister of Indigenous Services, congratulates the community, stating, “I wish the Yellow Quill First Nation great success in the development of their new urban reserve.  This added urban land provides an important opportunity to advance economic growth and development in the community.”

Yellow Quill First Nation is confident that achieving urban reserve status where its existing office tower is located will attract First Nations companies and organizations that wish to do business in a downtown location.  Yellow Quill First Nation also has plans in place to construct an office building on the adjacent 240 4^th Avenue South site, pending securing an anchor tenancy.

Municipal Service Agreements were negotiated between Yellow Quill First Nation and the City a number of years ago when the property was originally purchased.  Following the subsequent purchase of the adjacent property, which currently is a vacant parking lot, the Municipal Service Agreements were updated to reflect both properties.

The Agreements address:

• services the City will provide;
• service fees Yellow Quill First Nation will pay the City in lieu of property taxes; and
• compatible land use and development standards.

Decisions on reserve creation are made by the federal government.  The site becomes the sixth urban reserve in Saskatoon.  When a property transfers to reserve status, it is no longer under City jurisdiction.

For more information on urban reserves, please visit saskatoon.ca/urbanreserves.

About Yellow Quill First Nation
Yellow Quill First Nation is a Saulteaux First Nation located twelve miles northwest of Kelvington, Saskatchewan.  The Yellow Quill First Nation is a signatory of Treaty No. 4, which was signed by Chief Yellow Quill on August 24, 1876.  Approximately 968 members reside on reserve, and 2,005 members live in other communities throughout the province.  Yellow Quill Holdings Inc. oversees the various economic development initiatives on behalf of Yellow Quill First Nation, as well as lands purchased by Yellow Quill Treaty Land Entitlement.