After completing her first year as Mayor, Sandra Masters highlighted Regina as being a city of firsts during her State of City Address.
The mayor of Regina touched on several aspects of the city including reconciliation , affordable housing, COVID-19 response, city infrastructure and agriculture.
With the city’s history of leading, the Mayor would like to see that trend continue in another area, reconciliation.
Masters says that Regina can become a centre of reconciliation. “We are on a path of seeking a better understanding of indigenous culture and values and it will make us better. The spirit and intent of reconciliation is to remove barriers, to build a relationship, to travel that journey with an order to embark a meaningful process of reconciliation.”
The Day of Truth and Reconciliation event that will be held at Mosaic Stadium on September 29, 2022 was highlighted by Masters as one of the events within the City to help lead reconciliation efforts.
The future of agriculture sector is very bright for Regina according to Masters. “Providing a community and business friendly environment, attracting business, creating jobs increasing population and families. Regina is well positioned to be the Ag leader in Canada, urban agricultural centre.”
Billions of dollars invested into agriculture projects around the Regina area this past year along with the success of events like Agribition are a couple of reasons for the agricultural sector to excel for many years to come says Masters.
Poverty is one issue that the city is looking to improve on.
Homelessness is a complex issue in Regina, Masters noted. “Intergenerational trauma, addictions, mental health, education, employment, racism, reducing poverty, I can tell you in almost every day seems overwhelming to me. It requires a collective impact approach that engages all levels of government, community based organizations, funders, volunteer and the business sector.”
Affordable housing is needed for the city said Masters and is looking forward to several housing initiatives to begin over the next year to help solve that problem.
