News Releases

September 30th marks the first annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in our country’s history. Previously, Sept. 30th has been recognized as Orange Shirt Day and wearing an orange shirt continues to be one way to acknowledge the day.

The federal government created this federal statutory holiday in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action #80: “to honour Survivors, their families, and communities, and ensure that public commemoration of the history and legacy of residential schools remains a vital component of the reconciliation process.”

The City of Saskatoon will be observing the stat to demonstrate a commitment to reconciliation and so that employees may participate in events that promote healing and awareness and reflect on the residential school legacy.

Saskatoon City Mayor, Charlie Clark says: “This is a day for all Saskatonians and Canadians to take time to honour the strength and resilience of Survivors of residential schools. We acknowledge the pain that they, and their families, have carried for generations. And we recognize that this pain was brought on by government policy and the churches that ran the residential schools.”  

He continues: “In naming these truths on this day, we must recommit to building a future that overcomes the colonial thinking that allowed residential schools and policies to be established. Instead, we must create relationships and systems based on mutual respect where every person is valued to be who they were meant to be.”

In order to establish and maintain a mutually respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) found that “there has to be awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.”

Melissa Cote, the City’s Director of Indigenous Initiatives says: “The impacts of residential schools are felt by generations of Indigenous families. This day is a day to honour all the children who went to residential school. We need to acknowledge that it's going to take generations to heal from the trauma and effects of residential schools. It will be hard work, but important and meaningful work that we all have the responsibility to carry out.” 

The City has been actively engaged – as a municipality, Co-Chair of Reconciliation Saskatoon, and through other community partnerships – in efforts to help raise awareness about the day and in providing opportunities to participate. This Community Calendar of Events hosted on the City website contains dozens of activities and initiatives that the City and other organizations have organized. Through its work with Reconciliation Saskatoon (City as Co-Chair), new reconciliation resources are being shared such as this Personal Commitment to Reconciliation and this Pathway for Moving Forward.

Saskatoon Transit buses and other City vehicles will be displaying orange t-shirt stencils this week. The City social media channels and website are being “painted orange”. City Hall, the Prairie Wind art installation and SaskTel Centre will light up orange Sept. 29-30. The flags on City-owned facilities will be lowered to half-mast to honour Survivors, those that never made it home, and the families impacted by residential schools.

Residential school Survivor John Merasty says this about Sept. 30th: “Don’t stay at home. We need to go out to the street on Orange Shirt Day. Maybe someone will be asking, why are you wearing this shirt and you can tell them why. The students should learn about Indian people and the struggles that they lived and they are continuing living today.”

On National Day for Truth & Reconciliation the City of Saskatoon will show support and honour residential school survivors, their families, and those who never made it home by hosting a free public swim event at Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre ( on Thursday, September 30 from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. All residents are welcome to attend.

This event is part of the City’s commitment to advance its learning journey through creative programming and by responding to TRC Calls to Action #66 on youth programming and #89 on creating health and well-being opportunities by reducing barriers to sports participation. 

To learn about other events being held to recognize and commemorate the legacy of residential schools, click here.

Please note, masks are required inside Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre, except while in the water.

The City’s winter roads emergency response plan was approved by City Council on Monday, September 27. With this response plan in place, extra staffing and contractor resources would be activated to restore mobility after a blizzard with an accumulated snow fall of at least 25 centimetres and reduced mobility to the point that light vehicles cannot travel on city streets. This plan was developed by the Administration after 30-40 centimetres of snow fell in November 2020, which required day and night city-wide snow grading and removal to restore mobility and safety in the city.

“We have a fine-tuned response plan for snowstorms that we scale up for the handful of times each year when more than 5 centimetres of snow accumulates,” says Goran Saric, Director of Roadways, Fleet & Support. “And now, this plan is a more robust, multi-agency strategy for a future extreme event like we saw in November, allowing us to respond faster and more efficiently city-wide.”

The response plan was developed using lessons learned from the November 2020 blizzard and examples from other winter cities, with input from other agencies and stakeholders to ensure it follows an approach that works for the whole community.

Residents should have an emergency plan too. “Residents should always have a 72-hour emergency plan for any emergency event.  You should be prepared to take care of yourself and your family for a minimum of 72 hours (about 3 days),” says Pamela Goulden-McLeod, Director of Emergency Planning. “It could take that long for emergency services to reach you in a city-wide emergency at any time of year.”

The City’s previous extreme blizzard was in 2007 when 36 centimetres of snow fell in one day. Projections using 30 years of historical data for Saskatoon estimate this type of blizzard may occur again in 10 to 14 years. As the frequency and severity of inclement weather is predicted to increase with climate change, the frequency of future extreme snow events may be higher (e.g., 1 occurrence every 7 years).

More information and education about the response plan will be available this winter. For more information about the City’s regular winter operations, visit saskatoon.ca/snow. 

• green – minimal risk
• yellow - caution
• orange – high risk
• red – critical risk

• review of current Public Health Orders
• review of current COVID-19 situation
• consultation with local MHO and other key stakeholders
• review by City Council
• any approved measures would be activated on the first day of the next month and would remain in place until a review at the next Council meeting

The City of Saskatoon will have a number of adjusted civic services and hours of operation on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. 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 National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, as follows:

REMAI MODERN

Remai Modern's hours on September 30, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

WASTE COLLECTIONS

Garbage (Black Cart) – Collections as scheduled on Thursday, September 30. Bi-weekly collections begin Friday, October 1.
Recycling (Blue Cart) – Collections as scheduled
Organics (Subscription Green Cart) – Collections as scheduled
For collection schedules and reminders, get the Saskatoon Waste Wizard app or visit saskatoon.ca/collectioncalendar

LANDFILL

The Landfill will be open 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 West Compost Depot will be open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
The East Compost Depot will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
More information at saskatoon.ca/compostdepots

SASKATOON TRANSIT SERVICES

Fixed route and On-Demand Transit will operate regular hours on Thursday, September 30, please consult the mobile app transit to plan your trip.
Access Transit and the Transit Customer Service Centre will operate with regulate hours.  

PAY PARKING

Parking payment is required on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, September 30.
Motorists are reminded that all parking requirements remain in effect, including parking time limits.

MUNICIPAL IMPOUND LOT 

Impound Lot is open to the public between 8:00 am and 7:00 pm

SASKATOON FORESTRY FARM PARK & ZOO

Regular Hours of Operation:

Zoo 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Forestry Farm Park 7:30 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

GOLF COURSES (HOLIDAY PARK, WILDWOOD AND SILVERWOOD)

Regular Hours of Operation.  Open dawn to dusk.

LEISURE CENTRES

The Leisure Centres will be open regular hours of operation. 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
OPEN – 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Harry Bailey Aquatic Centre
OPEN - 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Lakewood Civic Centre
OPEN – 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Lawson Civic Centre
OPEN - 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Saskatoon Field House
OPEN – 6:30 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Shaw Centre
OPEN - 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Terry Fox Track
OPEN – 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.

INDOOR ARENAS
ACT Arena – Open regular hours of operation. 
Parent & Tot Skating: 2:30 to 3:15 p.m.

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

Over 2,500 participants have registered for the virtual 2021 Wîcihitowin Indigenous Engagement Conference on October 5-7. The event will provide registrants with important teachings to assist them on their paths to reconciliation.

“With registration closing tonight at 11:59 p.m., we can announce that this year will be our largest group of attendees to date,” says Brad Bird, Co-Chair of the Wîcihitowin Organizing Committee and Director of Reconciliation, Saskatoon Public Library. “We are looking forward to welcoming thousands of people virtually to learn from our speakers—including Residential School Survivors and Knowledge Keepers—about the Seven Sacred Teachings that guide Indigenous Peoples’ ways of knowing.”

Established in 2014, the Wîcihitowin Conference was created to provide Residential School Survivors and Sixties Scoop Survivors with a platform to share their voices and teachings, to inspire respectful engagement and meaningful inclusion of Indigenous peoples within the community, and to share resources and tools to form and maintain culturally respectful organizations. “Wîcihitowin”, a Cree/Saulteaux term meaning “to help each other/to work together”, is the driving force for the now annual event.

“The Wîcihitowin conference provides an opportunity for community members to learn from survivors and for survivors to share their experiences, resilience and strength,” says Gilbert Kewistep, a Residential School Survivor and advisor to the conference organizing committee. “I want to thank everyone who chooses to virtually attend the conference, because fully committing your time and attention to learning matters. And, these conversations matter.”

“The City makes a point to contribute financial and human resource support to this conference every year,” says Melissa Cote, Director of Indigenous Initiatives for the City of Saskatoon. “The feedback we get from this event is always incredible – how it influenced individuals and organizations to change their thinking as well as their practices. Past participants feel that this conference has contributed to progress on Indigenous engagement and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.”

The theme of this year’s conference is The Seven Sacred Teachings: love, respect, courage, honesty, wisdom, humility and truth. These inherent beliefs and values guide Indigenous Peoples’ ways of knowing and are shared by generations through oral traditions of storytelling and ceremony. The conference presentations will demonstrate how the Seven Sacred Teachings can guide people through their personal journeys; help community members, organizations, governments, and businesses respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action; and ensure respectful Indigenous engagement and inclusion within communities.

2021 conference presenters include:

• Chief Cadmus Delorme, Cowessess First Nation
• Dr. Cindy Blackstock, Executive Director, First Nations Child and Family Caring Society
• Dr. Dave Courchene - Nii Gaani Aki Innini (Leading Earth Man), Elder and Knowledge Keeper, Anishinaabe Nation
• Richard Van Camp, Storyteller and Author, Dene Nation from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories
• Stephanie Harpe, Residential School Survivor, International Advocate for Murdered, Missing and Exploited Indigenous Peoples, Singer/Songwriter
• Representatives from the Saskatoon Survivors Circle

“It’s important that we acknowledge there are so many different ways of learning,” says Bird. “This conference provides many Indigenous and non-Indigenous people with a connection to traditional teachings—I promise that the content will be eye-opening and thought-provoking whether you’re attending for the first time or the seventh.”

Registration is available free of charge at wicihitowin.ca, closing on September 27 at 11:59 p.m. (CST). For conference updates, you can also follow Wîcihitowin YXE on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

The Wîcihitowin Indigenous Engagement Conference is made possible through contributions from the City of Saskatoon, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, Saskatchewan Health Authority, Saskatoon Public Library, United Way & Area, Saskatoon Community Foundation, and Nutrien (premier investor).