Council declares a state of emergency in Regina
Regina city council has declared a local state of emergency and approved a list of further measures similar to those announced by the province Friday afternoon.
The declaration is the result of a motion put forward by Mayor Michael Fougere and includes closing restaurants, bars and nightclubs, but allowing take out and drive-thru service to continue; closing all dental offices except for essential and emergency services; and banning public gatherings that exceed five people except for people delivering essential services. Some of the new measures echo those announced by the provincial government Friday afternoon.
“For me and council, like everywhere else in the world, this is an extremely urgent matter. There’s a lot of anxiety and people who are worried and they’re looking for direction as to what to do to protect themselves,” said Fougere. “This is … what we believe, in the Regina context, we need to do to lessen the transmission of this virus.”
The motion passed unanimously. Council was to reconvene at 6 p.m. Friday with more details to be provided by administration on when the measures will be implemented and how the city will communicate with the businesses affected by the changes.
No matter what measures the city puts in place and when, the provincial government has the authority to overrule any decisions made at the local level.
“I am satisfied that the province will take it seriously and I’d be shocked if they overruled any part of it,” said Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkins. “The measures are necessary today, right now.”
Council also talked about adding daycares to the list of businesses to be forced to close, but decided more information on jurisdiction and private versus publicly funded daycares was needed before making a decision. More measures can be added under the declaration at a later day if city council sees fit, according to administration.
City council also discussed a variety of other measures the city can take to ease the burden of COVID-19 on residents and businesses. They considered the following recommendations made in a report by administration: Waiving transit fees;
Change Monday to Friday transit service to a Saturday service model (bus service would be reduced from every 30 minutes to every 60 minutes) to allow for sustainable service;
Extend the property tax payment deadline to Sept. 30 (the usual deadline is June 30);
Suspend utility disconnections for six months (until Sept. 30);
Suspend late payment charges on all utility accounts until Sept. 30;
Suspend all collection activities; City council requests that the province temporarily suspend all residential evictions under The Residential Tenancies Act, as well as immediately launch and begin accepting applications from low income households under the Canada Housing Benefit Program.
Council was set to vote on these recommendations when they reconvened on Friday at 6 p.m.
Bylaw and parking enforcement has already been relaxed amid concerns over parking tickets around Regina General Hospital. For now, bylaw enforcement will focus on addressing immediate public safety concerns.
A Food Security Committee has also been established with REACH and the Regina Food Bank as the two lead agencies. Regina Food Bank will ramp up hamper provision and distribute to parking lots throughout the city.
The City and REACH are working with REAL (Regina Exhibition Association Limited) to utilize their facilities to assemble 750 lunch bags per day, seven days a week for children and youth who rely on school feeding programs. These will be distributed at city facilities located throughout Regina. The city anticipates the program to be fully operational no later than March 25.
A phone line is being set up to receive calls from residents who need access to food, and to provide information about distribution sites. Citizen Experience at the City of Regina is providing support and will prepare an information package and messaging.
“There has been some contraction in shelter capacity as some shelters are in the process of closing, and others have limited capacity to enforce social distancing measures. All are concerned about the ongoing capacity to meet the need of vulnerable people for housing, and to ensure that staff, volunteers and guests are able to stay safe,” the report states.
The city, along with its provincial partners, will continue to explore how best to address shelter needs over the coming days.