Here’s another story of a music festival gone horribly, horribly wrong.

I take you back to June 1970, for the Celebration of Life Festival, which was held on a farm in Louisiana. Promoters called it the South’s answer to Woodstock, which had happened a year earlier. The lineup included Pink Floyd, Ike & Tina Turner, the Beach Boys, and BB King. Local authorities wanted none of this, and two days before the show was supposed to start, cops moved in and shut everything down.

This left thousands of people with nothing to do and nowhere to go. Some sat in the field in the blistering heat and humidity. Others found abandoned farmhouses. There was no food, water, sanitary facilities, or medical care. Two people drowned while escaping the heat in the South Louisiana River, while others were injured in fights with police.

The Celebration of Life Festival of 1970 was a total disaster but has been largely forgotten. Good.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Whenever you get a bunch of music fans into a field and introduce alcohol, drugs, and dodgy weather, things can and will go wrong. The Powder Ridge Rock Festival, held at a ski resort in Middlefield, Connecticut, was one such event.

Local authorities tried to stop it, but 30,000 people showed up anyway. There was no music because everything had been cancelled. The promoter, the owner of the ski resort, was arrested for allowing people onto the property. Meanwhile, everyone had to deal with no music, no food, no water, no sanitary facilities, and some very bad drugs, especially the cheap dollar-a-tab acid.

The only artist to show up was Melanie, the folksinger, who performed an impromptu set powered by a couple of ice cream trucks that had been commandeered.

One more horror show festival next time.

© 2026 Corus Radio, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Pediatricians are urging better tracking of e-scooter and e-bike injuries after a report shows a “significant number” of severe injuries and deaths among youth who used them last year.

The report, released by the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP), showed data from a survey of pediatricians in 2025. It showed 48 cases of serious injuries or deaths reported. These included 26 cases of hospitalizations lasting more than two days and 12 ICU admissions. There were nine other cases that the report said could not be classified.

But Dr. Daniel Rosenfield said the data showed 10 deaths from personal powered micromobility devices (PPMD) incidents, which he said is some of the first data of youth fatalities aside from media and police reports.

“People don’t associate these devices with fatalities, right,” Rosenfield said in an interview. “As the usage of these devices goes up, which we can tell by the number of kids coming in with minor or moderate injuries, then the number of fatalities will also go up.”

E-scooters were the most used device reported among the injuries or deaths.

The Canadian Institute for Health Information showed similar data, with 53 injuries requiring hospitalizations among youth ages five to 17 between 2023 and 2024.

Among the most common injuries found in the CPSP’s data were to the head at 47 per cent and limbs at 40 per cent.

“So the majority of severely injured people are due to head injuries and remember these aren’t injuries that you can walk away from. These people will often have a permanent disability,” Rosenfield said.

Youth aged 10 to 15 were 42 per cent of the cases reported by pediatricians or emergency physicians, with 18 per cent among those five to nine years old. According to the data, the average age for incidents was 10 to 12.

Rosenfield said the issue is complex, but doesn’t blame government for a patchwork of rules surrounding the operation of e-bikes and e-scooters by youth.

In Ontario, Prince Edward Island and British Columbia, youth must be 16 or older to ride a standard e-bike, but other provinces have lower limits such as 15 or 14, or none at all. Quebec has an age limit of 18, but those with a Class 6D licence for mopeds or scooters can ride starting at 14.

For e-scooters, Ontario, P.E.I., Saskatchewan and B.C., again, have firm age limits of 16, but others like Quebec and Nova Scotia set it at 14.

Alberta and Saskatchewan ban e-scooters altogether from public roads, but municipal bylaws allow for their public use in those specific towns and cities like Edmonton or Saskatoon. Both provinces don’t have a specific age limit, leaving it up to municipalities.

The one common factor in many provinces regarding the devices is whether youth or adult, a helmet is required.

Though he doesn’t blame governments, Rosenfield said standardization of rules across the country would be helpful. In the interim, though, what should be focused on is education, enforcement and engineering, he said.

“There’s no amount of regulations that will make these safe and no amount of educational campaigns to get everyone to be aware of the potential risks,” Rosenfield said. “We have to really start at the absolute top and design a safer vehicle and create standards that mandate that across the country.”

Amid calls for strengthened safety regulations, a few provinces say they’re taking new action or are considering potential changes.

Nova Scotia announced last week that it plans to ban children under 14 from riding electric bikes this fall.

Alberta says it is amending its Traffic Safety Act to “build a modernized and safer transportation system.”

“As part of these amendments, Alberta is considering a provincial framework to support the safe and consistent use of personal micromobility devices, such as e-Scooters and similar small devices, where municipalities enforce and choose to allow them,” a spokesperson for the Department of Transportation told Global News in an email.

Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Government Services Mike Goosney said in an email that the province is working with other jurisdictions and safety partners to determine the “best approach” to regulating the devices.

“Public consultations will soon be starting, and this feedback will help inform legislative amendments that I intend to bring forward for the fall sitting of the House of Assembly,” Goosney said.

Global News reached out to Transport Canada to inquire if the federal government has considered working with provinces and territories in finding a standard across the country.

Police in Toronto have also launched a two-week enforcement campaign focused on the vehicles, as collisions involving micromobility devices have increased. According to police, there were 514 reported micromobility-related collisions involving youth and adults in Toronto this year so far, including two deaths involving e-scooters.

“Through our enforcement and education efforts, we’re working to improve awareness and encourage safer use of these devices for everyone on our roads, sidewalks and pathways,” a spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service said.

That education is still important, with Rosenfield saying if you’re going to ride these, wear a helmet, don’t ride at excessive speed, and with e-scooters, don’t put two people on one device.

“That’s not an accident, that was completely preventable and predictable,” he said.

—with files from Global News’ Katherine Ward

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Honda Indy is back in action this weekend, with a new location that promises fun for the fans and unpredictability on the track.

After decades of the Roar by the Lakeshore, the Indy is moving north to Markham. A street circuit has been built around the Markham Pan Am Centre and York University Markham campus, which will be just as new to the drivers as it will be to the fans.

Events schedule

Things get started with the return of Free Fan Friday on Aug. 14. With a voluntary donation to Make-A-Wish Canada, fans get access to the grounds where a number of other racing series will be running practice and qualifying sessions.

Off-track entertainment will also be in full gear, with an autograph session with Indycar drivers slated for 12:30 p.m. at the Pan Am Centre.

On Saturday, qualifying for the big race will take place from 2:25-4 p.m. This process sets the order in which the cars will start on Sunday. After qualifying, NASCAR’s Canada Series will take over the track, followed by a concert from Kingston country music group The Glorious Sons.

Sunday is race day, with driver introductions starting at 11:30 a.m. The green flag flies roughly an hour later at exactly 12:22 p.m. The cars will do 90 laps before one driver will take the checkered flag.

How to get there

Event organizers are urging race fans to take the GO train. Unionville GO Station is just steps away from the track, and Metrolinx is stepping up service on the Stouffville Line in accordance with the big event.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, three additional trains will travel from Union Station to Unionville GO in the morning, and then back again in afternoon and early evening. Exact times for those trips can be found on the GO Transit website.

Parking is available near the track, with the largest lots located to the west of the event space off of Enterprise Boulevard.

What it means for Markham

The Honda Indy made its home at Toronto’s Exhibition Grounds for nearly 40 years. So, it came as quite a surprise when Indycar announced the move to Markham, an as-yet untested host for auto racing.

Frank Scarpitti has been the mayor of Markham since 2006 and was integral in bringing the race to the city. “This is our moment to shine,” he said. “We’re extremely honoured to host this world-class event.”

Scarpitti says talks between Indycar and the city of Markham about relocating the Honda Indy began in January 2025. By July, the deal was done.

“When we made the announcement, many people in our own community asked ‘is this real? Is the Indy actually coming to the city of Markham?'” Scarpitti said.

“I don’t think any city in Canada could have pulled off getting this agreement.”

One of Scarpitti’s stipulations was that Indycar had to make a long-term commitment to Markham. “The Indy race was looking for a new home, and one of the things we made very clear is if we were going to make the investment in the infrastructure, we needed them to come to the city of Markham for five years,” he said.

Since inking the five-year deal, Scarpitti said Indycar executives have indicated that they are looking to stay in Markham for the long haul.

Mayor Scarpitti estimates this weekend will generate $50 million in economic activity. “All the municipalities in York Region are benefitting from this in one way or another,” he said. “We don’t have enough hotels in the city of Markham, so that means all the other communities in York Region will see benefits.

“Restaurants, even in the north end of Toronto, places like Scarborough and North York will see the benefit of having the race in the city of Markham.”

One of the sticking points for many Toronto residents was the sheer volume of the race, which rattled windows in Liberty Village all weekend long.

“The benefits to our community far outweigh some of the disruption,” Scarpitti said. “The disruption is temporary, but the impact is going to go on for many years to come.”

Drivers still figuring out approach for new track

Kyffin Simpson is one of Indycar’s rising stars. The 21-year-old is entering his third season in the sport, and said he’s logged long hours on his racing simulator in an attempt to try and decipher the brand new track.

“It seems like it’s gonna be tricky,” Simpson said. “It looks like a technical track which isn’t usually my kind of track, but I love all sorts of challenges.”

Simpson added the layout might lend itself to some gambles.

“It’s going to be interesting to see what the passing opportunities are like,” he said. “It looks like it’s going to be difficult to pass, but you might just have some big sends in the race.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Hundreds of pages of court documents detailing what happened during the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting on Feb. 10 have finally been released.

Media outlets from across the country fought for transparency on behalf of the victims’ families, the community of Tumbler Ridge, and the nation.

The files reveal chilling new details about the killer, but a lot of information is still being withheld from the public.

The Tumbler Ridge killer—18-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar—was a known name to local officers.

A sworn police document known as an ITO, written by RCMP Const. Jonathan Paquin, confirms: “Jesse had mental health problems and was fascinated by firearms.”

The shooter, a male who identified as female, was the eldest child and the records note they were “obsessed with guns.”

On Feb. 10, five innocent children and an educator were gunned down in the safety of their school.

The victims included 12-year-old Kylie May Smith, 12-year-old Ticaria Lampert, 12-year-old Zoey Benoit, 12-year-old Abel Mwansa, 13-year-old Ezekiel Schofield and educator Shannda Aviugana-Durand.

The horror that unfolded inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary was captured on the body camera of a responding officer.

The shooting was recorded on CCTV from inside the school.

“I have watched CCTV footage from Tumbler Ridge Secondary School,” Paquin writes, but pages and pages of potential context and crucial details – scrubbed clean by authorities – leaving only the confirmation that Van Rootselaar acted as a lone wolf.

The particulars of 80 witness statements – buried under black ink.

The savagery of Feb. 10 began at home.

Van Rootselaar killed their mother and stepbrother first – 39-year-old Jennifer Strang and 11-year-old Emmett Jacobs.

Police discovered insecure firearms at the family home, but those details in the document are redacted.

Records show a trace on four guns, but the specifics are blacked out from public view.

Disturbing questions linger about how the young killer, with a history of mental health issues, obtained the firearms, why RCMP seized guns from Van Rootselaar’s home, why were the guns returned after the rightful owner went to court and were any of the seized guns used in one of the worst mass shootings in Canadian history?

Following the shooting police obtained five search warrants, hunting for electronics, digital clues, suicide notes and manifestos. But Van Rootselaar’s social media and phone records are also blacked out.

It is entirely unknown to the public if anything was found to help make sense of the tragedy.

The investigation of what happened in Tumbler Ridge is of international interest as governments grapple with how to fight hidden online threats before they turn deadly.

The FBI notified the RCMP that OpenAI located two ChatGPT accounts believed to be used by the killer. OpenAI banned the accounts but failed to notify the RCMP at the time.

The details of what was said on those accounts are completely hidden from public view.

In July, the B.C. government announced that it has retained counsel to pursue legal action against OpenAI for its failure to notify law enforcement of threats made on its platform before the shooting.

The province said it has retained CFM Lawyers in Vancouver and Stranch, Jennings & Garvey, a California-based law firm, to explore all legal avenues to hold OpenAI and its decision-makers accountable.

In June, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Artificial Intelligence Minister Evan Solomon unveiled Canada’s new AI strategy which includes proposals for the building of “large-scale” data centres, restrictions on controversial surveillance pricing, and a plan to ramp up use across industry, government and individuals.

The Canadian government also introduced online harms legislation in June that would require social media companies to restrict children under 16 years old from their platforms, but will not force AI chatbot platforms to do the same.

This comes as governments around the world have begun banning social media for users under 16 years old, including Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brazil, France and Turkey.

In the case of the Tumbler Ridge mass shooting, the RCMP’s reasoning for keeping the public in the dark, even though there will be no criminal trial, is that they claim the information could inspire copycats and without a complete criminal investigation, coroner’s inquest or public inquiry, it could put the public at risk.

However, there was no substantive information provided to the public as to how being transparent would do so.

-with files from Rumina Daya and Sean Boynton

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Liberal government has blown past its own deadline to review a major national security law that gave Canada’s security and intelligence agencies sweeping new powers by three years.

Bill C-59 reshaped Canada’s national security landscape in June 2019, establishing the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) Act, making significant changes to how the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) operates, and putting in place civilian review and oversight of the intelligence community for the first time.

Given the significance of the changes, the Liberals wrote into the legislation that Parliament must review the new national security regime within four years, in 2023. That didn’t happen.

Documents obtained by Global News show the chair of the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA) raised the missed deadline with Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree in a November 2025 meeting.

Ten months later, Anandasangaree’s office said it’s not up to him to initiate the review. That power rests with Parliament — where Anandasangaree’s party has held power for the last 11 years.

“Parliamentary reviews are undertaken by Parliament, and their timing is ultimately determined through parliamentary processes,” wrote Simon Lafortune, a spokesperson for Anandasangaree’s office, in a statement to Global News.

“The government remains committed to supporting Parliament in its work, including with respect to the review of national security and intelligence legislation.”

Jean-Yves Duclos, the Liberal chair of the House of Commons’ public safety committee that would likely undertake the parliamentary review, did not respond to a request for comment.

Stephanie Carvin, a professor at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Relations and a former CSIS analyst, said in an interview that the missed deadline speaks to successive federal governments’ “lack of national security interest.”

“National security legislation in this country tends to follow a crisis,” Carvin said.

Those crises include laws passed after the 9/11 attacks, the Conservatives’ Bill C-51 after the 2014 attack on Parliament, and the Liberals’ response with C-59.

“If you think about the way we pass these bills, we tend to only pass legislation every 10 years, and usually in omnibus legislation,” Carvin said.

“And then we forget about it.”

There is a level of “review fatigue” within Canada’s national security community, Carvin added, after two high-profile public probes into law enforcement and national security agencies’ operations in recent years. The Public Order Emergency Commission in 2022 examined the Trudeau government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act to deal with the Ottawa convoy protests, while in 2024 Justice Marie-Josée Hogue led a months-long inquiry into foreign interference in Canadian politics.

Both shed significant light on how the federal government approaches national security issues and on the operations of various policing, security and intelligence agencies themselves.

At the same time, however, Carvin noted that CSIS has practically been begging the federal government for years to review the legislation that underpins its operations. That hasn’t happened since the 1980s, meaning Canada’s main intelligence agency is still operating within a legal framework established before the internet existed.

CSIS’s 2025 annual report, for instance, suggested that tweaks to its legislation over the last four decades “have been outstripped by the speed of evolving national security threats.”

“Compared to its allies, Canada faces considerable challenges in collecting the intelligence needed to protect Canadians, inform decision-making, and advance Canada’s interests,” the report, released earlier this year, suggested.

The CSE, which functions as both the country’s top cyber defence and espionage agency, is operating in a very different environment than when C-59 made it a distinct entity from the Department of National Defence. The agency, which handles Canada’s cybersecurity and defence as well as digital espionage and signals intelligence, operated away from public scrutiny for most of its existence — but is now working more closely with the private sector and public agencies.

Parliament has not reviewed CSE’s legal authorizations to determine if they’re sufficient for operating in that new context.

“(The CSE Act) is now eight years old, in an era where we’re dealing with different kinds of threats, especially ones driven by AI, new concerns about sovereignty,” Carvin said.

“We are desperate to review to see whether or not the CSE Act is as up to date as needed … and I actually think CSE would welcome that conversation.”

A parliamentary review of the Liberals’ national security legislation would not necessarily cover all those issues. But according to the government’s own law, the review has to be “comprehensive” and assess the effect of C-59 on the operations of CSIS, the CSE and the RCMP, as well as the interaction of those agencies with newly created civilian review and oversight bodies.

That includes the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency (NSIRA), a part-time committee that has a mandate to review any activities or complaints made against CSIS or CSE.

A December 2025 briefing note for Michael Sabia, the country’s top bureaucrat, noted that relations between NSIRA and the intelligence community have been rocky in the first years of the review committee’s operations.

“There are an increasing number of disagreements between the security and intelligence community and NSIRA that either are, or are at risk of, being brought to the courts system for resolution,” the memo, obtained under the access to information law, read.

The briefing note did anticipate there would be a future parliamentary review of Bill C-59 and Canada’s intelligence oversight system, although the details have been censored from the document’s public release.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

A man who has been working to save animals from the Summerland, B.C., wildfire evacuation zone has now been told he can no longer continue his work due to breaking the rules.

Animal rescuer Kazimir Nowlin has been working since Friday to get animals and livestock to safety and away from the danger of the massive Bald Range fire.

“I was fixing a stable in Falkland to get a stallion that we had rescued off the reserve there, we’d finished that up, and then we heard about the Summerland fire starting up, so we just jumped in our vehicles,” he said about Friday evening when the Bald Range wildfire sparked.

“As soon as we got here, we had four horses evacuated right where the fire was. We brought them out to Oliver, jumped back in, we grabbed three or four more horses, grabbed them, took them up to OK Falls, I believe.”

Carolyn Dobler, a rancher from Stonewall Ranch, said Nowlin and his team rescued all of his animals.

“I finally got everybody here in one place last night, and went home and had a good cry and was so grateful,” she told Global News.

Nowlin said they continued to rescue animals where they were needed, but then they were told they needed permits to go into the evacuated areas.

He said he was told to join up with the Animal Lifeline Emergency Response Team (ALERT), who help rescue and evacuate animals and livestock during disasters.

However, he said he was told on Tuesday night that he could no longer work with ALERT as he was violating their rules of filming the animals and homes inside evacuation zones and posting the content on social media.

“Where is the counselling? Where is the support? Where is all of that?” Daryl Meyers with ALERT said.

“If someone is sitting at home and sees it on social media, and they have a complete and utter breakdown, meltdown.”

The president of the regional ALERT said that is why protocols are in place and Nowlin broke the rules by going into so-called Red Zones and recording video.

“He went rogue on us,” Meyers said.

“We had a complaint from the RCMP, and the RCMP asked us to have him stand down

“If we break the rules, we’ll get kicked out, and the last thing people need is for us to get kicked out.”

Nowlin said he is now moving on.

“It was disheartening because, I mean, we were doing what needed to be done, which they refuse to do,” he said.

“The leadership here — and I want to express, I am not against ALERT; I fully respect and love what they do — the leadership here is not any good. The leadership here is refusing to take horses that we can take out and put into a sanctuary that’s all set up for them, but she’s telling people that we’re not prepared to do that, and that is absolute crap.”

Nowlin said he applied for his own permit on Saturday, but he has not yet received a call.

He said there is too much red tape.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The Canadian Elite Basketball League is pivoting on its plans for a three-game championship series after the first game was called off due to unsafe playing conditions.

The Winnipeg Sea Bears and Brampton Honey Badgers opened Game 1 at Brampton’s CAA Centre on Wednesday, but play was suspended early in the first quarter due to condensation on the court.

The league issued a statement saying it consulted with both teams, game staff officials and venue staff, and decided to cancel the game because the playing surface was unsafe for competition.

Another statement followed, with the league saying the CEBL championship will now be decided in a single game to be held in Winnipeg on Saturday. Tip-off goes just after 2:30 p.m. and the game can be heard on 680 CJOB.

The league says the three-game series could not be completed within the scheduled window, so after consulting with both clubs, it opted to return to the single-game format used to decide a champion from 2019 through 2025.

Saturday’s matchup was initially slated to be Game 2 in the series, while Game 3 would be held in Winnipeg on Sunday if necessary.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A third batch of whales left Marineland for aquariums south of the border on Wednesday, marking what the park called a “major milestone” in its efforts to carry out the biggest collective move of captive whales.

Under grey skies, a team of specialists at the shuttered tourist attraction in Niagara Falls, Ont., guided six beluga whales into custom slings one by one before hoisting each into bright blue tanks. They started with the males, the first one rising up via crane at about 3:30 p.m. as rain drizzled down on the park.

Organizers kept an eye on the weather in case a thunderstorm forced them to call off the operation. But the clouds had largely dispersed by the time the crew moved to a second pool for the females, who clung together and sent large sprays arcing through the air as the group joined them in the water.

The operation came to a temporary halt in the evening as the team of vets and whale specialists huddled around the final beluga to assess a cut on her tail and determine whether she should be held back for the next transfer. In the end, she was treated and cleared for travel, the back of her sling padded with foam to prevent her from flailing her tail about.

A police-escorted convoy set off at about 8:30 p.m. to slowly drive the whales — two males named Zephyr and Balor; and four females named Caspian, Pikachu, Secord and Rain, also known as Spurlock — to Toronto’s Pearson airport. The six were then to be loaded onto a plane and flown to Shedd Aquarium in Chicago and Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Andrew Burns, Marineland’s adviser, said the series of moves has been going “exceptionally well.”

“We’ve had really no substantial issues whatsoever. All the animals are safely in their new homes, they’re all adjusting well and everyone is just getting better and better, and the operation is getting smoother,” he said Wednesday during the males’ move.

“And today we are going to reduce the number of whales here down to 11, which is … a major milestone. Two thirds are going to be out and safely rehoused.”

The whales’ health is the top priority, Burns said, adding there’s leeway to hold some back for a later transfer if needed to keep them safe and well. Three more moves are planned, including a “middle of the night” flight to Spain for the dolphins and two belugas, he said.

Marineland closed its doors to the public in 2024, with the park and its sprawling property up for sale. The park has said it is running out of money and can no longer care for the whales.

Tom Western, a retired Marineland employee who was at the park on Wednesday, said he was elated to see the whales move on.

“Marineland’s a big part of my life. I worked here for 40 years,” he said in an interview.

“I was here when all the adult belugas were put in this pool with the exception of the ones that were born here, and I’m so happy that they’re moving on to new homes.”

Western said he was grateful for the chance “to say goodbye to some of my old friends here.”

“It’s just an honour,” he said, adding that the belugas are in good hands with the organizations involved in the move.

Before Marineland began shipping its whales to the United States last month, the park had 30 belugas and four dolphins —  the last captive whales and dolphins in Canada.

The first move on July 20 saw six belugas head to new homes at Shedd and SeaWorld in San Antonio. Weeks later, another seven belugas were transferred to the San Antonio attraction.

The complex operation, which Marineland has called “unprecedented,” is the whales’ only shot at survival.

The park struck a deal last year to sell all 30 belugas to a massive aquarium in China, but the fisheries minister blocked the sale, deeming it not in the best interest of the animals.

In response, Marineland said it would euthanize all the whales if it didn’t receive emergency funding from the federal government, a threat that made international headlines.

Ottawa later approved another deal with a consortium of American and Spanish aquariums, which helped orchestrate the series of moves currently underway.

SeaWorld in San Diego and Oceanografic Valencia in Spain are also expected to welcome some of Marineland’s whales or dolphins.

If, for some reason, the whales are not moved, they will be euthanized.

Marineland has said it hopes to have all the whales gone by the end of the month.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Saskatoon city councillors voted against a motion on Wednesday to scrap a funding stream for an art installation that has stirred controversy over the past few weeks.

The funding stream, known as the Civic Capital Project Public Art Funding Stream, requires capital projects receiving over $5 million in city funding to incorporate a “public art or artistic design element” in the project for up to one per cent of the total project’s costs, with a maximum of $500,000.

Ward 5 Coun. Randy Donauer brought forward a motion to scrap the policy following the controversial unveiling in June of three glacier-like sculptures placed throughout the city, made of recycled plastics and priced at $297,000.

But councillors voted 8-3 against his motion, with councillors Bev Dubois and Troy Davies in support, alongside Donauer.

In the weeks that followed, residents took to social media to share their thoughts on the project, with many scrutinizing the costs while others voiced support.

On Wednesday, support for the project, titled Modern Erratics, was on full display, with a dozen speakers voicing support for keeping the art project funding intact, fearing cuts could lead to future funding rollbacks.

“Public art isn’t separate from infrastructure. It’s one of the ways we create public spaces that people recognize, remember, and feel connected to,” Em Ironstar, executive director for the Saskatchewan Arts Alliance, said to councillors.

Tristan Surtees, one of the two artists behind the project and part of the Calgary-based art duo Sans Facon, appeared virtually before the committee on Wednesday, saying the project was not done with profit in mind but with a focus on community impact.

“It’s not off the shelf, it takes craftspeople and expertise to make work that can be enjoyed for many years and to have the durability in life required to exist in public space,” said Surtees.

The project costs included $150,000 for materials, with $148,000 for actually putting the work together, said Surtees, adding the total profit from the project was around $11,000 over three years.

In a report to councillors, city administrators provided details on the sources of the total project costs for the Material Recovery Centre (MRC), which included borrowing, city reserves and a federal-provincial funding program allocated to fund the art installations.

But Donauer says the intention of his motion was to address the policy, which is one of six ways public art is funded, especially as larger capital projects are expected to come online in the future.

“We’ve got some really large capital projects coming and so we’ll be looking at half a million dollars for public art on a regular basis if this continues,” Donauer said.

Donauer says that operational and reserve funding account for significant portions of arts and culture funding in the city, with operational funding making up around $10 million a year and grant funding over $800,000 a year.

“I’m sorry, but at some point we have to say how much is enough,” he said.

Modern Erratics uses discarded plastic from Saskatchewan to form glacier-like rocks. The three installations can be found at the city’s Forestry Farm Park, Diefenbaker Park, and Material Recovery Centre and feature recycled goods ranging from grain bags and bottle caps to shredded waste carts.

The project was three years in the making, commissioned as part of a site-specific funding stream within the city’s public art policy for the MRC. It was approved by the city council in May 2022, with a request for proposals issued later that year requiring that the art incorporate reused or recycled materials to reflect environmental sustainability and waste reduction.

City council awarded the project to Calgary-based art duo Sans Facon in January 2023 after a “fairly good” response, receiving around 10 submissions, said Lesley Anderson, Saskatoon’s director of planning and development.

The final price tag of Modern Erratics totalled around 0.8 per cent of the MRC’s project budget, which is below the maximum one per cent total art allocation, Anderson told councillors Wednesday.

Councillors also pushed forward motions to have city administrators report back on ways to improve the debated public art funding stream, including enhancing communication around how projects are procured and funded.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.