Sask. NDP calls on province to reverse governance of Wascana Park

Saskatchewan NDP and official opposition leader Ryan Meiliis calling on the government to overhaul the governance of WascanaPark in order to do away with the province's majority vote.

"Wascana is the heart of Regina," he told reporters on the steps of the legislature Thursday.

"This is a very important part of the life of this city and the whole province and we've seen the Sask. Party take a very backwards step by taking away local public control of this park."

Until last year, the park was operated by the WascanaCentre Authority. Under its control 11 members governed the park, three appointed by the university, three appointed by the City of Regina and five appointed by the province.

In 2017 that changed and the park fell under the authority of the Provincial Capital Commission. At the time, the province said doing so would smooth operations for the park.

The commission's board is comprised of only five members with three representativebeing appointed by the province and one for each the city and the University of Regina.

Meili said the governance shakeup is a "step backwards" because it takes away both the voice of the city and university in decision making.

He pointed to Regina City Council's recent vote to restrict future commercialdevelopments in Wascana Park, a position Mayor Michael Fougere called largely "symbolic," noting that city is outnumbered by provincialvotes on the commission.

U of R welcomes discussion on restoring equal voting

In a statement to CBC, University of Regina president VianneTimmonssaid she had initial questions about the transition from the WascanaCentre Authority to the PCC, but generally has been satisfied with the operations of the commission as it related to the university.

"However, our primary concern remains that unlike in the WCA governance structure, in the Provincial Capital Commission model, the University and the City of Regina do not have equal voting representation with the Province.We would welcome a discussion on how voting equality might be restored." Timmons said in her statement.

In a separatestatement, Minister of Central Services Ken Cheveldayoffsaid there areno plans to change the governance model.

NDPcalls for commercialdevelopments to stop

On Thursday, Meilialso called on the province to disallow further commercial development from happening in the park.

It's an issue that has spurred protests this summer.

The new headquarters for ConexusCredit Union, to be located in the park, is expected to be completed in 2020. The plans for the building were approved by the former WascanaCentre Authority back in 2016 and Regina City Council agreed to donate land for the new office buildingthe same year.

As part of the deal,Conexus will donate $8million to the University of Regina for upgrades to its College Avenue campus. The company will also help finance renovations toDarkeHall, which ison the edge of the park south of College Avenue.

Closed door meetings

Brandt Industries also has plans to build a 70,000-square-foot building in Wascana. The Canadian National Institute for the Blind(CNIB), which currently has property in the park,is set to be one of Brandt'stenants.

According to a provincial spokesperson, the PCC approved that project's concept plans last September and is awaiting more detailed designs before approval.

PCC meets behind closed doors, according to a provincial spokesperson.

"When you've got a situation where you've got a government that's taken away power from the public and are now selling off pieces of public land having a lack of transparency on top of that just makes that even worse," Meili said.

In his statement, Cheveldayoff said even under the former Wascana Centre Authority board meetings were not open to the public, but the commission does publishan annual report online.

Two staff move

Last month,there was a change in key staffing roles in the PCCand the ministry responsible for the park.

Carrie Ross, former executive director of the commission, left the role for a position in the Ministry of Parks, Culture and Sport, a spokesperson confirmed, saying she pursued the new role.

As well, Richard Murray, former deputy minister in the Ministry of Central Services, moved to the Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety to assume the role of deputy minister.

A spokesperson said Murray's move was part of housekeeping as other deputy ministers assumed new rules and "not related to a specific issue."