News Releases

The City of Saskatoon will have a number of adjusted civic services and hours of operation on Labour Day. Wondering what’s open or closed? See full details on the City’s website.

The City of Saskatoon will have a number of adjusted civic services and hours of operation on Labour Day, as follows:

CITY HALL

All Administrative Offices are closed on Monday, September 5. City Hall will reopen Tuesday, September 6, at 8:00 a.m.

ROADWAY DETOURS & CLOSURES

See here for detailed long weekend road restrictions for priority one roadways.

REMAI MODERN

Remai Modern is closed on Monday, September 5.

SASKATOON PUBLIC LIBRARY

All locations will be closed on Monday, September 5.

WASTE COLLECTIONS

• Garbage (Black Cart) – Collections as scheduled (No impact on long weekend holiday)
• Recycling (Blue Cart) – Collections as scheduled (No impact on long weekend holiday)
• Organics (Subscription Green Cart) – Collections as scheduled (No impact on long weekend holiday)
• For collection schedules and reminders, get the Saskatoon Waste Wizard app or visit saskatoon.ca/collectioncalendar

LANDFILL

• The Landfill is open over the Labour Day long weekend from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• Cash transactions are accepted, although Credit and Debit are recommended.
• More information at saskatoon.ca/landfill

COMPOST DEPOTS

• The compost depots are open for the season and over the Labour Day long weekend from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
• More information at saskatoon.ca/compostdepots

SASKATOON TRANSIT

• Fixed route and Access Transit will operate holiday hours on Monday, September 5.
• Saskatoon Transit OnDemand will not be available.
• Transit Customer Service Centre will be closed but phone lines (306.975.3100) will be open from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

PAY PARKING

• Parking payment will not be required in City-managed pay parking areas on Labour Day, September 5.
• Motorists are reminded that all other parking requirements remain in effect, including parking time limits.

MUNICIPAL IMPOUND LOT 

• Vehicles will not be released to the public on Labour Day, September 5.
• Open for regular business on Tuesday, September 6  

SASKATOON FORESTRY FARM PARK & ZOO

Regular Hours of Operation:

• Zoo - 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
• Forestry Farm Park - 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Buckeye Café - 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

LEISURE CENTRES

Search for drop-in program information including fitness and weight room hours, public swim sessions and fitness programs on Leisure Online at saskatoon.ca/leisureonline.

• Cosmo Civic Centre - CLOSED
• Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre -12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Lakewood Civic Centre - 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Lawson Civic Centre - 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Saskatoon Field House - 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
• Shaw Centre - 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
• Terry Fox Track – CLOSED

OUTDOOR POOLS

Closed for the season.

GOLF COURSES (Holiday Park, Wildwood and Silverwood)

Open regular hours of operation. Dawn to dusk.

NUTRIEN PLAYLAND AT KINSMEN PARK

OPEN - 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (last day of operation).

NOTIFYNOW

Residents are encouraged to sign-up to notifynow for timely and targeted public safety messages. Notifynow is a free service. Tell us how to best reach you on your preferred communication device. Visit saskatoon.ca/notifynow for more information.

YXE SERVICE ALERTS

For information and updates on service disruptions such as power or water check saskatoon.ca/servicealerts or follow @yxeservicealert on Twitter. 

The province-wide pruning ban for elm trees ends today, Thursday, September 1. The pruning ban is in place each year from April 1 to August 31 to ensure that elm bark beetles, which transmit Dutch elm disease (DED), are not attracted to freshly pruned trees when the beetles are most active.

Provincial regulations also prohibit the storing, transport and use of elm wood for any purpose. This includes wood chips, firewood, wood slabs and branches. The only permitted movement of elm wood is to the City’s designated disposal site at the City Landfill. 

Elm trees make up about 25% of Saskatoon's urban forest. Last year, the City confirmed its third case of DED since 2015 in an elm tree located in Leif Erickson Park in the Westmount neighbourhood. As part of the City's DED Response Plan, the infected tree was immediately removed and disposed of at the City Landfill. The City will continue surveillance and testing of public and private elm trees in the surrounding area with an intensive search for elm material and other sources of infection. 

The most effective management strategy for DED is to not transport or store elm wood. Infected firewood is the most likely way that DED would be brought into Saskatoon. In addition, keeping elm trees healthy by regularly watering and properly removing and disposing of dead and dying branches will deprive the elm bark beetle of its habitat.

How to identify and report unhealthy elm trees

American elm trees with DED may start showing symptoms as early as June. Typically, the leaves will start to wilt and turn yellow out of season from June to mid-August, then curl and turn brown. Anyone suspecting that an elm tree is unhealthy is encouraged to complete the online form at saskatoon.ca/dutchelmdisease or call Urban Forestry at 306-975-2890.

By following the provincial regulations and maintaining elm trees on your private property, all residents can help prevent the spread of DED in Saskatoon. 

For more information on DED, visit saskatoon.ca/dutchelmdisease.

City Council at its August 29, 2022, meeting approved the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities and Corporate Services recommendation to match SaskPower’s approved electrical rate increases. The new rates will be effective starting today, September 1, 2022; as approved, a second rate will take effect on April 1, 2023. The Federal Carbon Charge is anticipated to increase on January 1, 2023.

The City of Saskatoon, and thereby Saskatoon Light & Power (SL&P) as a reseller of electricity matches its power rates to those established by SaskPower. This is to ensure equality between utility customers regardless of where they live in Saskatoon - within SL&P’s service provider area or SaskPower's.

The most recent general increase in electricity rates occurred on March 1, 2018, when a system-wide average increase of 3.5% came into effect. Since then, the Federal Carbon Charge has been implemented with annual adjustments. The Government of Saskatchewan also provided the Saskatchewan Economic Recovery Rebate in the amount of a 10% reduction in rates from December 1, 2020, to November 30, 2021.

SaskPower indicated in their current rate application that the main drivers of the requested rate increase were due to increases in the cost of fuel, purchased power expenses and modest increases in operating, maintenance, and administration expenses.

Starting September 1, 2022, an average residential customer using 625 kWh of electricity each month will incur an additional $7.00/month (3.4% electrical rate increase). Effective April 1, 2023, an additional $5.50/month (4.1% electrical rate increase). For commercial customers, there are several different rate categories depending on how much electricity they consume.

Please visit saskatoon.ca/utilityrates for full details on the electrical rates effective September 1, 2022.

For the City’s utility customers who have created an online My Utility Account, you'll be able to access SmartUtil our newest web tool to help you monitor your electrical consumption, view trends and also set handy budget notifications if you wish. 

If you're uncertain of your electrical service provider, review your monthly utility bill or call Saskatoon Light & Power at 306-975-2414 during regular business hours.

City of Saskatoon electrical utility (SL&P) customers, check out the helpful new interactive power outage map.

Visit saskatoon.ca for more information about City services and programs.

The City of Saskatoon has released its 2021 Annual Report to the public having received the opinion of the external auditor. Per The Cities Act, the 2021 Audited Financial Statements and Reports were presented to City Council for information on Monday, August 29, 2022. The Annual Report containing the consolidated financial statements is the legally required public report of the City's finances.

“The 2021 Annual Report highlights the City’s progress on major projects and initiatives by business line, our achievements and ongoing priorities as set out in the Multi-Year Business Plan and Budget, and the City's financial position at the end of 2021,” says Clae Hack, Chief Financial Officer. 

“Against the ongoing challenges and the uncertainty of COVID-19 in 2021, we continued to find creative ways to be resilient and responsive in the delivery of our key civic services to the community,” says Hack. “We remain committed to ensuring residents receive value from the services and programs provided by local government, and from the investments made through their tax dollars.”

Financial highlights from 2021 show the City had:

• consolidated operating revenues of $1.08 billion and operating expenses of $892.3 million resulting in a net surplus of $186.7 million
• a strengthened accumulated surplus from $4.6 billion to $4.8 billion, an increase of 4.0% over 2020’s figures
• a 2.95% increase in overall Reserves from $208.7 million to $270.4 million
• a year-end deficit for tax-based operations before the transfer from the fiscal stabilization Reserve of $1.1 million, the same operating deficit that was reported to City Council at its meeting on April 25, 2022

Award-Winning Financial Reporting

For the 14^th consecutive year, the City of Saskatoon received the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Canadian Award for Financial Reporting (2020). The 2021 Annual Report will be submitted to the GFOA for consideration for this year's award.

The City also had its S & P Global ‘AAA/ Stable’ credit rating reconfirmed for 2021 (and again in January for 2022 ), supported by the City’s cautious financial decision-making and willingness to explore innovative and alternative ways to fund, finance, deliver and make progress on important infrastructure projects.

Intending to be one of the best-managed cities in Canada, the 2021 Annual Report reflects the City’s ongoing dedication to continuous improvement, accountability to the public we serve, transparency and clarity in financial reporting.  

Visit saskatoon.ca/finance to view the 2021 Annual Report. Citizens may request an individually printed copy by emailing finance@saskatoon.ca.

A pair of size options to collect residential garbage at single family households will be presented to the Standing Policy Committee on Environment, Utilities & Corporate Services (EUCS) at its meeting Tuesday, September 6. The options are part of a report preparing the City’s move to a variable garbage cart utility in January 2024.

A variable black cart utility is a rate-based program where residents pay fees for the volume of waste they dispose and the services they receive based on the size of their garbage cart.

“While people are free to choose whatever they want, the volume-based rate structure is designed to encourage residents to divert as much waste as possible away from the landfill,” says Brendan Lemke, Director of Water and Waste Operations. “Residents with the largest garbage carts pay more and those with the smallest pay less.”  

The decision to fund both the garbage and organics services through payments on utility bills was approved October 18, 2021 by the Governance and Priorities Committee of City Council, at which time the Committee asked the Administration to evaluate the funding model and present options on timing, phase-in and affordability.

The two options up for discussion are:

• Option 1 (Recommended by Administration):
  
  • Three different garbage cart sizes would be available to residents upon request.
  • Residents would have a choice of cart sizes ranging from a 180 litre, 240 litre and the current 360 litre for year-round bi-weekly pick-up service.
  • This illustration compares the volume of the three black cart sizes. 

• Option 2:
  
  • Two different garbage cart sizes would be available to residents upon request -- the current large 360 litre and new medium 240 litre black cart for year-round bi-weekly pick-up service.

“Moving to a volume-based cart program will give residents choice based on their waste needs and it’s one of many components under the City’s Waste Reduction and Diversion Strategy to meet our waste diversion goals,” Lemke says. “We recommend Option 1 to City Council because it increases the customer’s control over their costs and provides financial incentives for waste diversion at a lower overall investment.”

The full report and attachments (appendix 1; appendix 2) can be found here.

For more information on waste and recycling, visit saskatoon.ca/wastediversion.