Public safety, affordable housing focus of Regina mayoral debate

With voting in the provincial election now over, the focus can now turn to the upcoming civic elections.

Municipalities across the province head to the polls on Nov. 13 to elect their councils and mayors. 

In Regina, nine out of the 11 candidates for mayor — Chad Bachynski, Lori Bresciani, Melina Bushenlonga, Bevann Fox, Kevin Kardash, Sandra Masters, Bill Pratt, Shawn Sparvier and Rod Williams — took part in a televised debate on Wednesday.

Nathaniel Hewton and Bob Pearce did not attend.

• Learn more about Regina's mayoral candidates.
• Find more coverage of the Regina municipal election.

The candidates were given the opportunity to share their visions for the city.

Several touched on public safety throughout the evening, including Lori Bresciani, who has been the councillor for Ward 4 in Regina.

"Proactive solutions like the alternative response officers, the program to increase the presence of public safety officers downtown is going to be a game-changer, and Regina police are going to be working closely with community associations in all neighbourhoods on how to be more proactive on crime reduction," Bresciani said.

Bill Pratt, the former CEO of Eden Care Homes, spoke about his approach to public safety.

"It will take multiple approaches within a larger strategy, and it's more than just enforcing the law," Pratt said.

"We need to examine the spectrum of public safety, from root causes to addressing issues of addiction and mental health."

Candidate Chad Bachynski, a manager at SaskEnergy, talked about the need for more affordable housing in the city's interior.

"It's a math problem to me. It provides more people using less lengths of roads, less lengths of pipe and shorter transit commutes," said Bachynski."So overall, there's an overall benefit and it actually reduces the tax burden on those folks living in the suburban areas."

Incumbent mayor Sandra Masters released her platform Wednesday morning with the tagline "Moving Regina Forward." 

Unlike Master's first mayoral campaign — which featured a commitment to build a new indoor aquatic centre — this platform did not feature a major commitment to a single project.

"We need to finish the work we started," said Masters.

Masters confirmed that if re-elected, it would be her final term as mayor.

Advance polls

Masters' comments come as advance polls for municipal elections are set to open in Regina and Saskatoon on Friday and run through Monday.

In Saskatoon, polling will operate from noon until 8 p.m. CST. In Regina, polls will operate from 10 a.m., to 6 p.m. CST. 

Arrest warrant issued for mayoral candidate

One Regina mayoral candidate is now the subject of a arrest warrant from the RCMP.

Southey RCMP say that on Oct. 16, officers received a report of an assault at a residence in Saskatchewan Beach.

An investigation determined an adult man assaulted a woman who then reported non-life-threatening injuries, police say. They have now charged Nathaniel Hewton of Regina with one count of assault.

The RCMP are not sharing additional details of the incident to respect the victim's privacy.

RCMP are actively trying to locate Hewton. A warrant has been issued for his arrest.

CBC has attempted to contact Hewton. He has not responded.