Saskatoon council set to vote on horse-drawn carriages

The City of Saskatoon will vote ‘neigh’ or ‘giddy-up’ on whether to move forward on making the horse-drawn carriage pilot project that ran last year a regular sight on Saskatoon streets.

Former NHL player Rich Pilon spent more than two years trying to obtain a business licence to operate his horse-drawn carriage ride business in Saskatoon. In late December last year, the city granted him a temporary licence to operate in the early months of 2026.

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The former hockey player had also bought his business from the person who operated carriage rides in Saskatoon outside of the Bessborough hotel for many years.

The city’s Standing Policy Committee on Transportation is recommending that a regulatory framework for horse-drawn vehicles be approved on Wednesday by city council and that the city solicitor be requested to prepare appropriate amendments to the city’s traffic bylaw.

A report from administration on the horse-drawn carriage pilot project also listed options of maintaining the status quo, meaning horse-drawn vehicles would continue to be considered as “unregulated vehicles” with administration having the option to issue permits on a case-by-case basis – and restricting horse-drawn vehicles fully from city streets.

The report indicated that selecting the third option to regulate horse-drawn vehicles “creates an established regulatory process for horse-drawn vehicle businesses in Saskatoon, which will allow for safe operations of horse-drawn vehicles in the city.”

This would also streamline the business licence process by formalizing an operating area, rather than requiring a case-by-case review of proposed routes for each application, and would create standard operator expectations, as noted in the report.

According to the city’s online agenda for Wednesday’s council meeting, there are two animal interest groups set to address council – Alexandra Yaksich with Animal Justice and Josh Hourie with the Saskatchewan SPCA. Hourie submitted comments to council, while Yaksich has requested to speak remotely.

In his letter submitted to council, Hourie noted concern over the absence of animal welfare provisions in the proposed regulatory framework for horse-drawn carriages. Reflecting on various incidents with horse-drawn carriages in Canada and the U.S. that have resulted in property damage and injuries to horses, humans and other animals, Hourie listed several areas where he said the SaskSPCA would like to see stronger policies and regulations implemented.

The list included limits on daily working hours and consecutive working days for horses, human and horse first-aid equipment available on each carriage, designating specific agencies responsible for monitoring compliance and identifying animals in distress, microchipping of horses, required annual health checks of horses, a requirement that operators carry their operating licences at all times while working and provisions about acceptable temperature ranges for horses to work in – defining what temperatures would be too hot or too cold for animal well-being.

“As Saskatoon considers permitting horse-drawn carriages, it is essential that any decision to allow their operation be accompanied by a strong, enforceable animal welfare framework,” Hourie wrote.

Comments submitted by Animal Justice’s legislative affairs manager, Alexandra Yaksich, also indicated concern over potential harm to horses in horse-drawn carriage operations, that the proposed framework does not address horse welfare and offered similar recommendations for the city to consider including in its framework.

Yaksich also suggested a retirement plan for “spent” horses, once they are no longer fit to pull carriages.

City council will also vote on a 10-year agreement with Cameco that would grant the company the exclusive naming rights to Centennial Auditorium and Convention Centre – currently known as TCU Place – and whether incentives for a 16-unit tiny home project by the Central Urban Metis Federation Inc. (CUMFI) will be approved.

—with files from 650 CKOM’s Lara Fominoff