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
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for "all parties" to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Taylor Swift drops 15 new songs on double album, 'The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology'
On Friday, the pop star released her 11th album and at 2 a.m. Eastern, she released "The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology," featuring 15 additional songs.
Israel gave U.S. last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says at G7
The United States told the Group of Seven foreign ministers on Friday that it received 'last minute' information from Israel about a drone action in Iran, but didn't participate in the apparent attack, officials said.
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.
DEVELOPING G7 warns of new sanctions against Iran as world reacts to apparent Israeli drone attack
Group of Seven foreign ministers warned of new sanctions against Iran on Friday for its drone and missile attack on Israel, and urged both sides to avoid an escalation of the conflict.