News Releases

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.