SASKATOON — The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is criticizing the City of Saskatoon after documents it obtained show the city spent nearly $300,000 on a public art installation consisting of three large plastic rocks.The CTF said the city paid $297,490 to Calgary-based artist duo Sans façon to create Modern Erratics, an installation featuring three oversized plastic rocks placed at Forestry Farm Park, Diefenbaker Park, and the Material Recovery Centre at the Saskatoon landfill.CTF Prairie Director Gage Haubrich said the expenditure is an inappropriate use of taxpayer dollars, particularly as residents face higher property taxes."I can't believe I need to say this: Taxpayers shouldn't be paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for plastic rocks," Haubrich said in a statement..According to the CTF, comparable natural boulders could have been purchased from local suppliers for between about $17,000 and $50,000 each.The federation said the artwork was funded through the city's public art policy, which allocates up to 1% of eligible civic project budgets to public art.The criticism comes after Saskatoon approved a 6.7% property tax increase this year. The CTF said the cost of the installation is roughly equivalent to the annual property tax bills paid by 118 average households.Haubrich said the city should focus on improving affordability rather than funding public art projects, and called on council to eliminate the policy that sets aside funding for art as part of civic projects.The federation also pointed to previous public art spending it has criticized, including nearly $100,000 for colour-changing light spheres installed in a downtown back alley in 2023 and more than $8,000 spent painting doors in the same alley in 2024.
