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
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.