Regina Minute: Issue 82

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

📅 This Week In Regina: 📅

• On Wednesday, at 1:00 pm, there will be a City Council meeting. Council will reconsider its previous 2025 meeting schedule to accommodate thorough budget deliberations for 2026-2027. Two additional meetings have been added on December 15th and 16th, with all budget discussions scheduled to run daily at 9:00 am from December 15th to 19th. This aims to ensure that Council has adequate time to review and debate the budget proposals. Residents and stakeholders wishing to speak at the meetings must register as delegations by Thursday, December 11th at 12:00 pm.
  
  
• Speaking of the budget, Council has begun reviewing budget requests for 2026, with service partners like the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC), Economic Development Regina (EDR), and Regina Public Library (RPL) submitting proposals amid inflationary pressures. Councillors, including Ward 7’s Shobna Radons, urged these organizations to assess potential cuts before finalizing requests, noting the City’s ongoing financial strain. PCC and EDR requested the same operational funding as 2025 - $2.7 million for PCC and $2.1 million for EDR - while the RPL asked for a 3.85% library mill rate increase in 2026 and 4.3% in 2027. Mayor Chad Bachynski emphasized transparency and fiscal responsibility, stating that all budget components and partner requests will be reviewed carefully to ensure taxpayer dollars are spent effectively. 
  
  
• The Regina Police Service has introduced a new “safe transaction zone” to help prevent crimes linked to online marketplace exchanges. Located on the north side of police headquarters at 1717 Saskatchewan Drive, the area includes two designated parking stalls equipped with lighting and 24-hour video surveillance. The Police Service said that the initiative was launched in response to a rise in robberies, fraud, and theft tied to buy-and-sell platforms, with 75 such incidents reported so far this year. The zone provides a secure, monitored location for people to complete transactions that might otherwise occur in isolated or unsafe areas. Residents are advised to remain cautious, noting that unrealistic prices or sellers who refuse to meet in the safe zone are major red flags. 
  
  
• Regina’s North Central Revitalization Initiative is set to receive a funding boost in 2026, with the City’s Executive Committee approving $7.2 million from the federal Housing Accelerator Fund (HAF) for land bank and satellite projects. This includes $385,000 to support Growing Young Movers, a youth employment program that would hire local youth for property maintenance services like snow clearing, lawn care, and graffiti removal. Pending Council approval on October 22nd, $5.5 million will be allocated to the land bank to acquire properties through tax arrears or purchases, supporting affordable housing development through non-profits and community land trusts. Additional funds include two $250,000 grants for establishing community land trusts and $600,000 for a residential housing pilot project. Mayor Chad Bachynski highlighted the initiative’s potential to strengthen community roots, create jobs, and address housing inequities in North Central Regina.

• The City has launched PedApp, a mobile app designed to make crossing streets safer and more accessible for people living with disabilities. Developed with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB), the app provides verbal directions, vibration alerts, and remote activation of crosswalk signals at nine downtown intersections on Victoria Avenue. PedApp notifies users as they approach an intersection, gives a countdown for safe crossing, and is designed to function in extreme temperatures down to –35 °C. The City plans to expand PedApp to all downtown intersections by year-end and eventually citywide as part of broader accessibility improvements.

🚨 This Week’s Action Item: 🚨

🪙 This Week’s Sponsor: 🪙

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