Regina Minute: Issue 127

Regina Minute - Your weekly one-minute summary of Regina politics

📅 This Week In Regina: 📅

• The Executive Committee will meet on Wednesday at 9:00 am, and one of the items on the agenda is a proposed funding agreement that would see Regina receive up to $2,403,483 per year for 10 years - a total of $24,034,830 - through the federal government's Canada Public Transit Fund. The funding covers up to 40% of eligible transit capital costs, meaning the City must contribute about $3.6 million annually to receive the maximum amount. The money can go toward buses, transit shelters and facilities, and active transportation projects such as bikeways and sidewalks. The agreement comes with conditions: buses purchased with the funding after March 2029 must be zero-emitting, even though Council directed Administration in 2025 to buy diesel-hybrid rather than battery-electric buses. Administration says that if that direction stands, it will redirect the federal money to the other eligible categories, and will bring a report reviewing bus options before 2029. If the Committee agrees, the agreement goes to City Council for final approval on September 9th.
  
  
• The Accessibility Advisory Committee meets today at 4:00 pm, and one of the items on the agenda is a plan to collect on the roughly $7 million in unpaid parking tickets the City has accumulated since 2014. Administration is proposing a vehicle seizure program: owners with five or more outstanding tickets would be notified that their vehicle is eligible for seizure, and if they do not enter a repayment plan, crews would locate the vehicle, immobilize it with a boot, and ultimately impound and sell it if the debt remains unpaid. The program would cost $250,000 per year and require two new full-time positions, which Administration expects to be offset by an equal increase in collections, plus a one-time gain of about $300,000 during implementation. The report also recommends raising standard parking fines by $15 - a $75 fine would become $90 - while keeping the discounted rate for tickets paid within 14 days unchanged, widening the early-payment saving from $35 to $50 starting February 1st, 2027. Administration acknowledges the changes "will likely be received negatively by the public" and warns of a significant risk of public opposition as the program rolls out. The proposals are scheduled to reach the Executive Committee in October before going to City Council.
  
  
• Also on today's Accessibility Advisory Committee agenda is the City's annual winter maintenance report, which shows the City spent $12.55 million on winter maintenance in the 2025-26 season, in line with the five-year average of $12.51 million. Starting November 1st, the City will expand sidewalk snow clearing to urban corridors, select City Centre locations, and school zones, using $110,400 approved in the 2026 budget. Administration also wants to continue enhanced snow clearing on the newly rebuilt Dewdney Avenue and 11th Avenue corridors at an estimated $288,180 per year, and to raise snow storage site user fees to bring in about $65,000 more annually - both requests headed to the 2027 budget process. Administration reviewed, but recommends against, a policy requiring impassable residential streets to be plowed after main roads are cleared, which would cost about $49,728 per year. It also recommends against raising the snowfall trigger for alley plowing from 5 centimeters to 10 centimeters, which would save about $120,000 per year but reduce service. The recommendations move to the Executive Committee on September 16th and City Council on September 23rd.
  
  
• City Council has voted 6-4 to amend its agreement with Brandt Properties Ltd., allowing the company to operate and maintain all REAL District properties - including Mosaic Stadium, the Co-operators Centre, AffinityPlex and Confederation Park - for an initial term of up to 10 years, with two five-year renewal options at the City's discretion. The change expands on the original non-binding agreement from April, under which Brandt would have run the facilities for a limited time as part of its $6.5-million deal for the district. Mayor Chad Bachynski argued the aging buildings need major renovations the City cannot afford on its own, warning that if the deal fell through, Council would face tough decisions on "which buildings will stand on that campus going forward". Some councillors raised concerns about facility fees for community user groups, but Administration noted those fees are protected under the City's Leisure Fees Bylaw, though Bachynski acknowledged rates "will go up over time". All REAL employees will move to Brandt once negotiations are complete.
  
  
• A motion from Ward 2 Councillor George Tsiklis that would have had Administration classify all 60 City services as mandatory, discretionary, or hybrid was defeated 3-8 at last week's City Council meeting. Tsiklis argued the report, known as Project Service Prioritization, would help pay down City debt, rebuild reserves, and secure a stronger financial future, telling councillors that when money is tight "it's important to know what sits at the top of the list and what sits lower". Only Ward 1 Councillor Dan Rashovich and Ward 10 Councillor Clark Bezo joined him in support. Opponents, including Ward 8 Councillor Shanon Zachidniak, argued that deciding which services matter most is Council's job rather than Administration's, while Ward 5 Councillor Sarah Turnbull said Council is already working toward the same goal through its 2026-2029 Strategic Plan. Bezo backed the motion, pointing to the City's aging infrastructure and depleted reserves. Council next meets on September 8th.

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