Saskatoon Ex parade cancelled but it's not clear why
An iconic Saskatoon parade isn’t going ahead this year and there are conflicting reasons about the reason why.
The parade organizers say the cancellation is because downtown construction is interrupting its route.
Susan Kuzma, manager of signature events at Prairieland, says organizers “exhausted all options” to make the parade happen.
“There's extensive road construction along our regular route. We proposed a couple of other options as well and there just simply was not anything that was going to work,” Kuzma tells CTV News.
But the city of Saskatoon says that’s not true.
It says the reason the parade isn’t going ahead is because organizers missed the Jan. 1 application deadline.
Had the city known about the parade plans, it says it would adjust the downtown construction schedule.
“The city did not receive notice or a parade application from the Ex. This is required so construction and detours can be planned,” the city’s construction and design department wrote in a statement emailed to CTV News.
Kuzma said organizers began sending “some of our applications back in February.”
She said they never submitted a final application because they couldn’t get past the first step of finding a route.
“We never got past the route. We weren’t able to find a suitable route that was going to work,” Kuzma says.
The city says it only found out about the parade in April — through an advertisement on the Ex website.
Still, the city says it tried to work with the Ex to find a new route or host the parade on a different day.
“The city was awaiting a reply from the Ex parade organizers ... we had not heard anything from the Ex until we became aware of the parade cancellation in the news media,” according to the city statement.
Kuzma says the city’s proposed alternate routes weren’t ideal, and it’s looking ahead to next year.
“We’ll bring it back bigger and better next year. We'll start working with the city in January if we need to,” Kuzma says.
The city says it’s still willing to work with the Ex to make this year’s parade happen
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.