Vanessa Mathews

There are a number of councillors who have made it clear publicly that they will vote against this proposed increase. For the others, you are 100% correct - it's about building choice in our transportation system. An effective, affordable system is a win for everyone.

The 2nd agenda item is the proposed 10% public transit fare increase. This increase will disproportionately effect those who currently struggle the most with affordability and doesn't align with our commitments to building an equitable and sustainable city. It also stands to lose riders #yqrcc

I'll be speaking today at #yqrcc on two important agenda items. First is the Growth Plan Review as part of the OCP. While I welcome a strategic sequencing of new neighbourhoods tied to infrastructure provision, I feel the update falls short on intensification. Here's my delegation:

Also, charging more for surface parking lots and derelict housing GENERATES MORE REVENUE that you can put toward covering the cost of whatever extra staff you need to enforce this. And maybe have some mad money left over for municipal improvements. #yqrcc /5

The beauty of implementing a tax class where you can make derelict properties and surface parking lots more expensive to hold onto is it shifts the incentive structure we currently have & makes property owners WANT to develop they're land. Less wheedling necessary. /4 #yqrcc

Further to this thread, I now have an more complete list of organizations receiving Community Investment Grant Program Funding. It's 146 names long & it doesn't even include community associations.

I'm going to post the list I have so far to bsky right now. Hold on to your hats. It's enormous… /1

This list produced fear across #yqr. Each line contributes to sense of place & quality of life. These are the things that affect whether people want to stay in this city or not and whether people feel like they belong. #yqrcc 4/4

It would make living in #yqr 100% worse. Requests to find cuts without understanding the complexity of budgets, programming, grants, recreation needs, and/or delivery of services looks like this. This is a list of things that contribute directly to well being in our city. #yqrcc 3/

It would mean the loss of grants (including overnight warming centre), children's summer programming, commitments to reconciliation, winter city initiatives. It would mean a loss of safety standards (from roads to firefighting), elimination of programs, reduced staffing/inspections/repairs. #yqrcc 2

The cuts in Appendix M13 are haunting. If this budget cut were to go ahead it would mean the loss of the downtown clean up team, heritage incentives/grants, the Cathedral Neighbourhood Centre, the Floral Conservatory, Neil Balkwill Arts Centre, the Massey Pool, outdoor rink programs. #yqrcc #yqr 1/

YouTube video by PD City Hall — Paul Dechene Sep 16 2025 - Clr Rashovich Imagines A Diminished City

The video of Rashovich asking admin to game out a 5% budget reduction is pretty long so I've added chapter titles to help with the jumping around. youtu.be/BXC7FNft0G4?... #yqrcc

Zoned in: The Influence of Land Use Policy on Canadian Craft Breweries Municipal zoning bylaws have a considerable effect on the micro-geographies of craft brewing. This paper examines the location of craft breweries across Canada and provides an analysis of how land us...

This was about three years in the making but our piece on zoning and craft breweries is live! A pan Canadian study examining how land use planning affects the place of craft beer. It’s open access too! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #craftbreweries #geography #urbanplanning #placemaking

Calling all designers, planners and creative types! Today is the last day to register for the Finding Middle Ground Regina housing competition. You’ll have until November to finalize design. Open to all Canadians. #housing #HAF #designcompetition #infill www.regina.ca/home-propert...

Vote for consent to move to third reading… (needs to be unanimous; if it fails, 3rd reading goes to next council meeting): Fails. Clrs Flores & Zachidniak vote against.

So this delays passage of Safe Public Spaces bylaw to next council meeting. #yqrcc

Tabling motion failed. Councillors were not given much time to think through the implications of this provincially drafted act. I'm worried about its adoption on our most vulnerable (as delegations eloquently noted). The unhoused in #yqr must negotiate yet another round of cruel regulations. #yqrcc

Read the thread for context but I just need to stress that we discovered yesterday that, almost by accident, the City Of Regina is BUILDING A BASEBALL STADIUM ON THE YARDS.

The project is in the budget. It's happening.
You thought this was coming to council for approval?
SURPRISE! #yqrcc

Yay - another P3 & minimized debate! What could possibly go wrong?!

This data is public if you want to take a look yourself pikeplacemarket.community.highbond.com/document/025...

Great news: Sales at Pike Place Market were up 7.5% in August too! That's three months of solid data showing the pedestrianization pilot is good for business.

Add your ideas for how to keep the momentum going into the fall: actionnetwork.org/letters/pike...

YouTube video by PD City Hall — Paul Dechene QCIB Sep 18 2025 - Train House, New Physics & Everywhere Football

I like doing positive, constructive stories about cool city stuff but I can see the podcast stats & our numbers go way up when council's embroiled in a controversy or we're cranking about something dumb.

Well… anyway… this week's housing discussion w/ Bill Neher is one of those positive eps…

I'm really looking forward to listening to this!

The arbitrary power afforded by this act will likely result in increased surveillance/harassment against non-white bodies in #yqr. This (unequal law enforcement) is what happened during COVID lockdowns across Cda when police were given similar types of power to "protect" public space. #yqrcc

Among those harmed, Indigenous people will face the greatest criminalization.

If anything has held true, it's that police will give a pass to non-Indigenous users of drugs.

Especially white and white passing.

I absolutely agree!

The time to sign up to be a delegate has passed but I will be sending this to my city councillor and the mayor. I urge others to do the same if they want to voice their concerns. There are strong delegations that you can read in Wednesdays package 8/8 #yqr #yqrcc

The addition of hypodermic needles targets the most vulnerable members of our public. Who will police the police? The City of Regina should not support the further criminalization of unhoused people. 7/ #yqr #yqrcc

The list of dangerous weapons distracts from the arbitrary power afforded to police in this act. Police will be given the power to determine what constitutes a weapon and whether a fine and/or jail time is appropriate. 6/ #yqr #yqrcc

A better use would be adopting a housing first policy to ensure unhoused individuals are provided with a safe place to stay with related supports and services. This would be a direct measure to provide “safety” to members of the public that are unhoused. 5/ #yqr #yqrcc

Moreover, a person found in possession of a non-medical needle could be fined and/or face jail time. Who are we defining as the “public” in public safety? Greater police surveillance of our unhoused population is a poor use of municipal funds. 4/ #yqr #yqrcc

This will exacerbate the already high levels of HIV and Hep C in Saskatchewan. The inclusion of hypodermic needles as a weapon will also likely dissuade people from calling for help in the case of an overdose. 3/ #yqr #yqrcc