Saskatoon Minute: Issue 67

Saskatoon Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Saskatoon politics

📅 This Week In Saskatoon: 📅

• Construction is underway on Saskatoon’s new organics processing facility, with full-scale building expected to begin within two months and completion set for late 2026. The project is currently budgeted at $22.1 million, with $8.4 million coming from federal funding and the remainder financed through utility rates. Final costs are still being refined as tender bids come in. The facility will process organic waste collected through the City’s green bin program and replace the aging West Compost Depot. City officials chose to build their own facility after other private contractor options fell through. Early construction has begun at the site, located near the landfill, with drainage planning a key early focus. Major construction will ramp up soon as the City enters its summer building window.
  
  
• Saskatoon City Hospital’s emergency department is now open longer after months of reduced service, but full hours have not yet returned. The Saskatchewan Health Authority says the ER is now operating daily from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, up from the 9:00 am to 4:00 pm window that was in place since March due to physician shortages. Before February, the hospital’s ER stayed open until 8:30 pm. The SHA says progress has been made in stabilizing physician staffing and that a phased plan is in place to restore full hours. Part of this work includes adding 109 acute care beds, recruiting 500 staff and doctors, and upgrading equipment. The goal is to reduce wait times by moving more patients into acute care beds instead of leaving them in emergency. For now, patients needing overnight care are being directed to Royal University Hospital or St. Paul’s Hospital.
  
  
• The Saskatoon Food Bank and Learning Centre is setting up a dedicated children’s area as more local families rely on its services. Director of Operations Deborah Hamp says more than 40% of food bank users are children, a figure she calls unacceptable in Saskatchewan. The new space will include books, toys, and learning games so kids can play while parents collect food hampers. The food bank expects even more children this summer and is asking the community to donate gently used games and puzzles. The food bank has also launched its Fresh Fruit for Kids campaign with a goal of $100,000 this month to provide healthy snacks while school breakfast and lunch programs are unavailable.
  
  
• Construction has begun on two new EGADZ youth group homes in the Parkridge neighbourhood, each designed to house five youth facing challenges with mental health and addictions. The project incorporates input from youth advisors, some who credit EGADZ with helping turn their lives around and are eager to support others on the same path. The homes are expected to cost $1.5 million, with $650,000 from the Province and $400,000 from the federal government. Once operational, the Ministry of Social Services and Saskatchewan Health Authority will each contribute approximately $694,000 annually for ongoing support. The new homes aim to ease pressure on existing facilities, which currently have long waitlists.
  
  
• Residents of Saskatoon's Brighton neighbourhood are raising concerns about a City-approved pilot project to use herbicides in Prairie Lily Park to combat weeds. The herbicide likely to be used, Trillion, contains chemicals which have been linked to health and environmental risks. Critics are worried about exposure risks for children, pets, and local gardens, and are calling for more public engagement before proceeding. The City says the herbicide will be applied only once, under controlled conditions by licensed professionals, and signage will be posted to warn residents. Officials emphasize this is not a return to a widespread chemical program, but part of a limited test. The City hasn’t used herbicides in parks since 2004 and will seek feedback through a survey to inform future decisions.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

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