Regina Minute: Ward Boundaries, REAL Review, and Limited Debt Capacity

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

This Week In Regina:

• On Tuesday, the Board of Police Commissioners will meet at 9:00 am. Agendas for these meetings are housed on the Regina Police Service website. During this meeting, the Commission will discuss the Regina Police Pension Plan 2023 Annual Report, as well as a report on monthly crime statistics.
  
  
• On Wednesday, at 1:00 pm, there will be a meeting of City Council. On the agenda are the potential renaming of Dewdney Avenue and amendments to the Code of Conduct that prohibit Councillors from “making disrespectful, derogatory, or demeaning comments towards the City Manager and any members of the city staff during meetings, in public forums, and in written communications”. Council will also discuss a business model review for the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (More on that below!)
  
  
• A judge is currently deliberating on whether the Saskatchewan Municipal Board (SMB) and the City of Regina followed proper procedures in implementing the City's new ward boundaries, following a challenge by some resident advocacy groups. Advocates argue that the decision-making process lacked consideration of required feedback, as mandated by legislation. The review of ward boundaries by the SMB, initiated after the 2020 civic election, led to changes that split neighbourhoods like Cathedral and North Central, raising concerns about representation in core areas.

Last Week In Regina:

• The City said it does not have enough debt capacity to support all seven major capital projects planned over the next five years, including initiatives like a new indoor aquatic facility and central library branch. According to a report presented last week, the City has committed to $722 million in project investments but only has $299 million in debt capacity available for these endeavours. At this week’s meeting, Council will be asked to approve $100 million for the Water Network Expansion and to delay committing any money to the Regina Public Library’s central branch project until the fall.
  
  
• The Executive Committee received findings from an operational review by consulting firm MNP regarding the Regina Exhibition Association Ltd. (REAL), recommending that the City relieve REAL of tourism responsibilities amidst financial challenges. MNP proposed a hybrid model where REAL would retain certain operations while outsourcing event management to a third-party contractor, similar to models in other cities like Saskatoon. The review highlighted REAL's financial struggles, with a $16 million debt needing City intervention for sustainability, and suggested revenue optimization measures to improve financial performance. Council as a whole will discuss this issue further on Wednesday.
  
  
• Author Jeet Heer was scheduled to deliver a talk on Israel/Palestine on June 25th at the Regina Public Library. The booking was made by a group called Palestine Solidarity Regina, however the Library cancelled the event and, according to Heer, did so because it had “the likely effect of promoting discrimination.” However, Heer noted that City Councillor Dan Leblanc intervened and sponsored the talk, allowing it to proceed as planned. Libraries are public places, paid for by public dollars. Free speech should always be more important than whether or not we agree with the content being presented.