The new Regina city council’s most important task will be developing better relations, writes, former councillor Fred Clipsham.
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What can the new mayor and eight rookie councillors expect when they take their seats in Henry Baker Hall? Their first days will be busy learning about procedure, department responsibilities, committee appointments, etc.
But most important will be getting to know each other. If they truly want change to happen, they must learn to work together.
In the short term, while the new Regina council learns the ropes, the administration will continue to do things the way they have. No change there. In the longer term, if council can’t agree on a vision and a path forward, the administration will be forced to sit on its hands.
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The City of Regina is a very large corporation carrying out a myriad of tasks. Some of those are required by legislation like police and fire protection. Others are not required, but needed (parks, transit), while still others are nice to have (support for festivals, planters on the boulevards).
The costs for all of these are laid out in public accounts and predicted in the three budget books. If presented in a transparent way, councillors can understand and act on any problems or opportunities the numbers may reveal.
The C.D. Howe Institute that reviews these documents for major Canadian municipalities and grades them for transparency gave Regina an F in 2021 and another F in 2022. Put another way, council was operating in the dark.
To the credit of former mayor Sandra Masters, Regina earned a B grade in 2023. The new council must build on this improvement to be successful. True change will require it.
Fred Clipsham, Regina.
New mayor must addressing looming dangers
Regina’s new mayor, Chad Bachynski, promised us to work on affordability and safety. Mr. Bachynski will find many ways to use his energy.
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There are the homelessness, the unemployment, the poverty problems, that can lead to drugs and violence. Shelters, warming places and food banks are just Band-Aids. People need the dignity of work and the warmth (physical and emotional) of a home.
As for safety, our new mayor will hopefully look at our drinking water — some people don’t dare to drink it because of the lead in it. But while these are problems close by, there are far away dangers like nuclear weapons.
Let us remind him that there are organizations that allow cities to support the elimination of nuclear weapons, and that Canada must sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Evelyn Tischer, Regina
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