Saskatoon city greenhouses on the verge of being condemned: report
Saskatoon will no longer supply its own flowers for its summer flowerpots and garden beds, according to a report before city councillors this week.
The City’s parks department has run the greenhouse at the Vic Rempel Yards since 1958, but the building will need to be vacated soon due to escalating structural concerns, city administration explained.
Konrad Andre, manager of parks operations, says an engineering assessment outlined concerns about rotting wood components, cracking and falling glass and snow loads in the winter.
Andre writes that staff could be ordered out at any time.
“While not condemned, risk is increasing and an order to vacate immediately could occur at any time, including when the greenhouse is fully stocked with seasonal material.”
With no plans in place to fund a new greenhouse facility, the city has opted to buy its seasonal plants from private growers for 2023.
The greenhouse is also home to an assortment of plants that were removed from the former civic conservatory at the Mendel building, according to the report.
Andre proposes to move some of those stored plants of “sentimental and/or community value” to other public buildings.
“It should be noted that outside of a greenhouse environment some plant material will be at a higher risk of decline and potentially death,” he said.
Based on how the outsourcing process goes, city council could decide to put the greenhouse program to bed for good by the end of summer 2023.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment which has been banned at Queen’s Park.
Mountain guide dies after falling into a crevasse in Banff National Park
A man who fell into a crevasse while leading a backcountry ski group deep in the Canadian Rockies has died.
2 teens charged in Halifax homicide: police
Two teenagers have been charged with second-degree murder in connection to an alleged homicide near the Halifax Shopping Centre earlier this week.
'Deep ignorance': Calls for Manitoba trustee to resign sparked after comments about Indigenous people and reconciliation
A rural Manitoba school trustee is facing calls to resign over comments he made about Indigenous people and residential schools earlier this week.
12-year-old hippo in Japan raised as a male discovered to be a female
When Gen-chan arrived at a zoo in Japan in 2017, no one questioned whether the then-five-year-old hippopotamus was a boy. Seven years later, zoo staff made a surprising discovery: Gen-chan, now 12, was female.
Here's why Harvey Weinstein's New York rape conviction was tossed and what happens next
Here's what you need to know about why movie mogul Harvey Weinstein's rape conviction was thrown out and what happens next.
Legendary hockey broadcaster Bob Cole dies at 90: CBC
Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC.
Humanist group threatening to sue Vancouver over council prayers
The B.C. Humanist Association has threatened legal action against the City of Vancouver for allowing prayers at council, following a similar warning issued earlier this month to a smaller community on Vancouver Island.
LHSC performs a Canadian first in robot-assisted direct lateral spine surgery
Spine surgery may never be the same for people with chronic back pain and other physical ailments.