Regina mayor calls for action on housing crunch

A day-long housing summit concluded Tuesday with the mayor of Regina, Michael Fougere, calling for action on the city's need for affordable accommodations.

"We see a problem. We want to fix that problem," Fougere said at a closing news conference. "And that's what we will do."

Fougere also pledged to makeaffordable housing a top priority for council, establishing a new committeethat will focus on ways to create more living spaces in the city.

"People want action," Fougere said. "The strategy is there to a degree, so let's start acting and doing things as soon as we can."

The make up of the new committee has yet to be determined as it must be approved by Regina city council. However, Fougere said he expects interested community members will play a role.

A group of citizens who held another summit on housing, in another meeting room, expressed optimism that solutions could be found.

"All we need now is to just get together in the same room and really hammer out the document that will be the blueprint for the creation for truly affordable rental housing in our community," Mark Spooner, one of the organizers of the alternate summit, said.

Fougere cautioned the new committee is not likely to have anydecision-making powers. But it will provide persuasive advice to those who do.

He said he wants to see somesolid improvements by the time a secondhousing summit, announced for 2014, takes place.