City, Province Out of Touch

Good evening Regina!

What does the Sask Party and the City of Regina have in common? Aside from identical political views, they both favour developers heavily! So much so, in fact, that apparently the provincial government would rather side with a developer over tenants in a much needed, and much anticipated, social housing development in Hawkstone. See the story here: http://www.leaderpost.com/business/Mandryk+Government+favours+developer+over+tenants/10189940/story.html

What is most disheartening about this story is the statement by Donna Harpauer, the current Social Services Minister. She is either out of touch with reality, or not very well versed when it comes to interviewing with the media. She is quoted with saying "you're assuming there are desperate homeless people". This statement is just mind blowing. Even if you don't live in Saskatchewan, you're probably well aware of the housing crisis, and moreso the AFFORDABLE housing crisis. She had the gaul to claim that because her waiting lists have gone down, it can't be that bad. Thankfully, there are organizations like Carmichael Outreach that deal with people in these situations daily, and they set the record straight. The sad fact of the matter is, if the waiting lists have actually gone down, it's most likely because of people getting frustrated and not even bothering putting their name on it.

Then you have the City of Regina. Amazingly, the CBC has been doing an amazing job at uncovering a couple of stories recently, most notably the flawed recycling program. Apparently, Emterra, the multi-national corporate giant that came in and stamped on Crown Shred in a very unfair RFP process, hasn't been doing what they've been contracted to do. Glass has been going straight to the dump, and NOT being recycled as per their contract, and as they are being PAID to do. The story is here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/city-of-regina-hasn-t-been-recycling-glass-food-containers-1.2761004 . What's even more disheartening is the fact that the City of Regina claims they weren't aware that Emterra wasn't doing this, after falsely claiming there were contracts in place. Thank GOD the CBC dug deeper on this story, because they pushed and pushed until the real truth came out. And, then, as if the City wasn't digging themselves deep enough, they put out a Press Release claiming that CBC's story was false. CBC followed up on this, and in fact, confirmed that the facts they presented were true.

What is the end result of all this? Well, it means that the Governments need to start enforcing their contracts better, and start being held truly accountable for things they are falling very short on. Will the Province take Deveraux to court? Of course not, becaue they wouldn't dare "stomp" on them while they're down. But, apparently it's okay to "stomp" on taxpayers because they don't matter? And, will the City of Regina take Emterra to court for not abiding by their contract? Of course not. They wouldn't dare threaten the relationship they've developed with a Chinese company, or dare expose the fact that they've known all along that Emterra wasn't actually doing their job, and they turned a blind eye until the media started digging around.

Oh, and now the City of Regina is claiming that they need to raise taxes ANOTHER 5% just to fix residential roads. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/city-of-regina-looking-at-another-5-tax-hike-for-residential-roads-1.2761742 It's just too bad we don't have any other way to pay for those kinds of projects. Oh, wait, that is EXACTLY what they are supposed to be using their DEBT for. Not building unnecessary projects, like Mosaic 2.0 and the WWTP. Oh well, by the time the next election rolls around, who knows where we'll be and if it'll be too late to turn back the hands of time.

Pension Woes Continue for City Manager

Happy weekend everyone!!

A quick post today to let everyone know that something big is happening at the City of Regina, and I for one am stoked to see this finally happening. 

http://www.leaderpost.com/news/regina/FCAA+considers+cancelling+City+Regina+pension+plan/10041586/story.html

The only question is: Will this begin a full-blown audit and/or investigation into the goings on at City Hall? The $300M Pension Deficit was supposed to be fixed by December 2012, at least according to then-Mayoral-hopeful Michael Fougere during the 2012 Municipal Election. The City has been operating the Pension Plan illegally for over 3 years now, and it appears the Government of Saskatchewan isn't going to let that happen for much longer. It would appear that they, too, believed the lies that Mayor Fougere told the public during the election.

There are many questions that arise from this, the least of which is: How can we trust the City Manager, or any of the Senior Management team at the City of Regina, to manage the multi-million dollar stadium project when they failed miserably at fixing this issue? How can we trust them not to bankrupt our City? How can we trust them when they are failing their own employees who entrusted them to manage their retirement funds properly?

Most importantly: How did we get into this deficit? Mayor Fougere (or former Mayor Fiacco) would lead you to believe it is because of the market woes. Yet, we are alone in this kind of massive problem. In fact, as per the article, "such a situation of non-compliance is “unprecedented” in Saskatchewan." How is that possible? Well, according to some on the inside, there was a massive "retirement" package offered to about 400 City Employees in 2007 at the Turvey Centre. What lead to this is something that needs to be investigated, but rumour has it that this was one of the ways to "silence" the critics of Fiacco at the time, while allowing Fiacco to pad the Administration with the "yes men" that wouldn't question anything he does.

And, well, if you look at all that's happened since then, it certainly makes you wonder. 

Since then, Fiacco's managed to get his dear Harbour Landing and Global Transportation Hub developed, which has conveniently lead to the development of Harbour Landing West (Devonia Park) in the coming months, where Fiacco and several business partners own(ed) land.

During those years, land prices also skyrocketed over 300%. 

If this isn't enough reason to get an audit going, I don't know what would be. If the Wall Government feels it's appropriate to investigate the land transactions happening in the RM of Sherwood, where Reeve Eberle owns land, this should be raising red flags all over. The only problem is, not enough people are calling and demanding action be taken.

So, what can you do to get this looked further into? Simple!

CALL THE PREMIER'S OFFICE!! CALL YOUR MLA!!! CALL THE MINISTER OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS JIM REITER. DEMAND THEY TAKE ACTION!!

Tax Breaks for the Rich & Tax Hikes for the Poor

Good morning Regina!!

What the mainstream media won't bring you, we gladly will.

#1 - 2013 ANNUAL REPORT RESULTS

Last night, the Regina City Council accepted a report on the 2013 Operating Fund results. In it, there were two glaring displays of gross incompetence on the part of our City's former Chief Financial Officer, current Stadium Lead, and Suspected Instigator of the recent failed Mental Health Warrant against myself, Mr. Brent Sjoberg.

The first being the fact that we have a General Utility Reserve of over $85 MILLION which is set to remain very high over the next five years, even after the repayment of $45M for the GTH utility extension (which is it's own topic for another day), and the much debated P3 WWTP expansion. Add to the fact that a portion of our utility bills currently go to the general coffers, and there is absolutely no justification for the fact we pay 50-75% more than most other cities on Western Canada.

Secondly, because we have such massive reserves, there is absolutely no justification for the record Property Tax rate hike this year, or the past several years. A responsible Municipal Government would tap into these reserves or add to the debt before ever going back to the taxpayers for more money.

VIDEO OF MY DELEGATION:

#2 - FORMER MAYOR AND COMPANY GET TAX EXEMPTIONS

Last evening, Regina City Council voted on giving tax breaks to landowners that were recently annexed into our City. It should be noted that included in these landowners are our Former Mayor, his immediate and extended family, his business associates and Corporate Developers such as DREAM (Formerly Dundee), and Harvard Developments (Along with Forster Projects owned by an employee of Harvard, Blair Forster). - It should also be noted that the planned projects by Forster Projects appear to be a driving force behind the entire Regina Bypass, but again, that's another topic for another day.

As Founder of the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group, I am all about FAIR AND EQUITABLE TREATMENT of ALL Regina Taxpayers. It is evident that this was not respected by the City of Regina last evening, and while it is truly unfortunate, it is also, sadly, not surprising. When you have a fascist regime focused on capitalizing on taxpayer money, they will do anything they can that the general public simply doesn't understand or appreciate the gravity of.

I am here to tell you, which no other outlet will tell you, your tax dollars are being abused and assaulted by a ruling elite that think your tax dollars are their personal bank account. They seem to be so arrogant that, while they could easily afford the extra tax costs of being annexed into the City, they requested to have these extra taxes exempted. This is pure greed, and nothing less. Add to that the fact that it is suspected that many of these landowners were the ones crying to BE annexed last year, and it becomes evident that they want their cake and eat it to. On your dime. (It is not evident as to exactly which landowners requested to be annexed, as the City deems this to be "confidential information")

Then, add to the fact that Former Mayor Pat Fiacco was key in orchestrating the development of lands that were never intended to be developed for a variety of reasons, that conveniently lead right to his lands and those of close relatives, business partners and others, and you can see why I have been harping so much on Mr. Fiacco and his illegal activities as Mayor and beyond. In Ontario, there is a Mayor in the courts for fraud over a $1,700 bill for his kid's wedding. Here in Regina, we have a former mayor that stands to gain millions off the backs of hardworking taxpayers, and the media, the Regina Police Service and others deliberately ignore it, in the hopes that no one will catch on.

We live in a pretty disgusting environment where this kind of activity can go on underneath our very noses, and yet, the media plays dumb and wants taxpayers to do their work for them and bring them the stories.

I should note that - I am perfectly fine with tax exemptions for innocent landowners that were annexed against their will, who legitimately cannot afford the tax rates of the City of Regina.

VIDEO OF MY DELEGATION:

FIRST EVER STEAK NIGHT FUNDRAISER

Happy May Long Weekend Regina!!

After a devastating fire last month, a good friend, Ryley Balon, lost virtually everything to fire, smoke and water damage. As if that weren't bad enough, he was already struggling to make ends meet living in our less-than-ideal Social Services system, and battling daily between having to pay for food or rent. I won't get into all the details here, but suffice it to say, our Social Services system is severely broken in that it is not possible for anyone to pay basic rent in today's inflated market, even with the "rental supplement" that the Government of Saskatchewan provides. Ryley has had to struggle each month just to figure out if he should take money out of his (very limited) food allowance to pay for the rental shortfall, or find other ways to pay for that rental difference. This is something that no one should ever have to deal with, no matter what their situation in life.

We here at the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group refuse to stand idly by while we witness such injustices happening in our own backyard. As such, we are proud to announce our FIRST EVER STEAK NIGHT FUNDRAISER to help out those in need of a hand up in our society. We firmly believe in helping those that are simply not able to help themselves due to the many shortfalls of our government programs. This will be the first of many such fundraisers, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to those impacted by these tragic situations. We have also been blessed to have been provided with $25 Gift Cards and 20% off future dining Gift Cards as door prizes, and will also be holding a silent auction. All proceeds from this particular fundraiser will be provided directly to Ryley in order to allow him to get back on his feet, providing much needed clothing, furniture, food and more. This is one of many ways that we plan on giving back to our community with absolutely no expectation of anything more than a "thank you" by those that we can help out. If the event does very well, perhaps Ryley can finally stop having to decide between food and rent - month after month.

As a personal touch, I will hand deliver the steak night tickets to you, if you live in the Regina area. 

Tickets are $25 each and will be held Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at Bocado's in Regina. Tickets are going fast!
Please email for payment details.

We will also have door prizes and a Silent Auction on site. If you cannot attend , but still want to help out, please consider buying two tickets and donating them for others that may not otherwise be able to attend. If you are looking for an evening out, and cannot afford this, please send us your contact information, and we will add you to the list of potential donated ticket recipients. 

We have already received tremendous response, so please act fast as tickets are limited!

Broken Social Services System Failing Our Children

Good afternoon Regina!!

It is because of rare situations like the tragedy at the Cornwall Centre two weeks ago that we get to catch a glimpse into the potential future of those that are destroyed by our less than ideal Social Services system in Saskatchewan.

I truly do feel for the families of the victims, but I feel even more for those that are tossed around in our system because our fucking government has nothing better to do with their time (and our money) than to pad their own fucking pocket books and those of their developer-friendly cohorts.

I sincerely APPLAUD the amazing folks out there, like our good friends (names withheld for their right to privacy), for doing their part in helping provide a better life for children stuck in this severely broken system.

It is amazing and rare that you get guardian angels like these people, that take the time to care for a child at any cost. They open their hearts, their home and their wallets to an amazingly gifted child who was born to an individual who has their own problems to deal with (not going to name specifics due to privacy). Our great friends spent the first few years of this child's life being the only parents that he knows. In my opinion, they rightfully deserve to be able to adopt him into their lives to be a permanent part of the family that he has known, and loves dearly, since only a few months old. Unfortuntely, solely because our great friends are of "non-aboriginal" descent, the aboriginal community has first rights to this child. No matter how long our great friends actually parent him, care for him, and love him unconditionally, they get the short end of the stick, as does their amazing blessing from God.

Our Social Services system is severely broken. 

There are only two ways to fix it. Either DEMAND BETTER from Premier Brad Wall or Elect another party in 2016.  

Enough is enough!! 

UPDATE: This came across my Facebook feed late this afternoon. Another sad example of our severely broken Social Services program. MANY THANKS TO SPENCE BERGEN for stepping up and helping out where our system failed.

WANTS versus NEEDS: You decide!

Good evening Regina!!

Two weeks ago Tuesday, I sent the following email to every member of the Regina City Council, Senior City Administration, the Ministry of Government Relations, my local MLA, the Premier, CUPE, the Media, and some amazing supporters and past acquaintances of myself and the efforts of those behind the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group. To date, not a single member has replied to this enquiry, even though they have assured the general public that they take every concern very seriously and want to make every effort to ensure that our crumbling infrastructure is taken care of long before the wants and desires of the few elite members of our great communities. (AKA The #yqrmafia)

This is evidence that there is absolutely no desire, on behalf of these politicians anyways, to actually proactively address our alleged $2 Billion infrastructure deficit. 

The only thing that these individuals seem to care about is finding ways to exploit the needs of many in order to further their own distorted view of "capitalism" (which is actually Fascism). It is very easy to simply state that we have a massive infrastructure deficit. But it is far more difficult (for them anyways) to put (our) money where (their) respective mouths are and pony up when push comes to shove. As the saying goes, ACTIONS speak far louder than WORDS.

We must all ask ourselves - what do our City Council, City Administration, and Provincial leaders believe are more important to our province and our communities? Pet projects such as "Pat's Patio" ($14-24 MILLION City Square Plaza project developed on the backs of hard working taxpayers, effectively destroying any sense of community that the Regina Downtown may have had, also destroying the traffic flow and parking situation in Downtown Regina), "Mosaic 2.0" ($278M+ completely unnecessary, duplicate stadium project - awarded to PCL Construction, major contributors to Mayor Fougere's mayoral bid, and Premier Wall's Saskatchewan Party), and "P3" projects such as the WWTP upgrades ($230M+ - the "P3" however seems to stand more for Public (dollars) for Private Profit). Or desperately needed expenditures, like true infrastructure upgrades, fixing our crumbling roads, addressing the exhorbitant pension deficits and fiscally-responsible management of our municipal and provincial debt load, to name but a few.

It is clearly evident, Saskatchewan, that our politicians are waiting for the public pressure to be put on them, to demand their focus be on the needs of many, rather than the wants of just a few.

YOU DECIDE SASKATCHEWAN. 

WANTS VERSUS NEEDS.

#CourtOfPublicOpinion

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Good afternoon members of City Council and Senior City Administration,

Thank you once again for taking the time to reconsider the projects that are currently proposed under the Local Improvement Program. As a very concerned taxpayer, and a representative of the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group, it brings me great pleasure to provide recommendations of viable alternatives to address our crumbling infrastructure deficit, which by your own accounts, is in the area of $2 BILLION. While I appreciate you each might have your own opinion on HOW we got to the point we are now or who is responsible for funding it, the fact of the matter is we are here. And, as such, we need to work together AS A CITY to find ways to address this ever-growing problem.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15tR-aQRk-w

As I've made very clear in my delegations on this matter, the Local Improvement Act, 1993, is entirely optional in how it is implemented or applied, as well as what portion you choose to fund for each project that is deemed necessary under this program. While I disagree with your interpretation of what projects should be included under the Local Improvement Act, I agree that we have roads, sidewalks and other core infrastructure that are in desperate need of attention. Some of these needed repairs, by your own internal documents, are three to four decades past their useful life. To me, this is completely unacceptable, and to simply defer this to Administration to "come back with a report" is irresponsible and reprehensible. You owe it to the citizens of Regina to address the crumbling roads now. Not tomorrow, not next month, next year or 10 years from now. We will have to agree to disagree on what caused us to get into this situation, but the fact of the matter is you must ACT NOW.

To avoid a City-wide Tax Revolt, like the Business Tax Revolt of 1988, which is what you are sure to have on your hands soon enough, I would highly recommend going ahead with ALL PROJECTS that were recommended to you in the 2014 Local Improvement Program list, and also any others that were scheduled to be completed within the past 20 years that were postponed/stopped due to successful petition drives by residents. As I have stated, and your administration should be well aware of, the primary funding for these projects is intended to be through debt financing, as per the Act. Thus, there should be zero impact to the Operating Budget for 2014 or prior years.

We all recognize it "costs money" to fix these situations, but so does building a $278M stadium, a $25M City Square Plaza, a questionably-needed, privately-run $250M WWTP facility, or any other capital project that you have on your wish list. It is high time you demonstrate to taxpayers that you understand the difference between NEEDS and WANTS. We all WANT to have a flashy BMW or a fancy house, but we don't NEED them. We all NEED to have roof over our heads, especially in the dead of winter in Saskatchewan. We all WANT to have a car for our primary mode of transportation. But we NEED to have some form of primary transportation, such as a meaningful and useful Transit system.

I implore you, as a representative of many taxpayers who are too afraid to even speak to you, let alone come public with acknowledging they support me, in fear of being publicly reprimanded by the likes of some on Council and those that operate the ridiculous Twitter parody accounts. Do what you know is RIGHT. Don't do it because you're afraid of not being re-elected in 2016, do it because you know this is what taxpayers want. For you to plead ignorance to the wants and desires of Taxpayers is not acceptable any longer. If you spent the time doing your public research, like I have, and speaking directly to those impacted by these situations, and not just those who you choose to speak to, then perhaps you would be fully aware that the majority of taxpayers DO NOT want to pay extra money for these desperately needed road and sidewalk repairs. They DO WANT the work to still get done, however. I know you might run the risk of getting sued by those that have had to pay for the 65 projects since 2000, but so be it. If that is your fear, might I suggest finding a way to refund those taxpayers proactively, preventing the need for good-hearted citizens to take the time and money to pursue you legally.

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter, and I trust that at least one of you will take the time to respond to genuine Taxpayer concerns - regardless of your personal viewpoints on myself as a person.

Best Regards,

Chad A. Novak, CMA
Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group
www.chad4regina.com

Fougere: "Let's Fix Roads Only - Scrap the Sidewalks!"

MAYOR WANTS TO SCRAP SIDEWALK REPAIRS ENTIRELY
NOT-SO-BOLD PREDICTION: When the City of Regina comes back in a year ("well before the 2015 budget period") and recommends changes to how they can "fix" the way they apply the Local Improvement Program, my money is on that they will recommend completely scrapping the necessary repair of sidewalks, so that local roads can be fixed without the added costs to taxpayers. This recommendation is obvious, when you listen to the horribly scripted words that our Mayor and Council spoke last night at the Off-Broadway musical held inside Henry Baker Hall, called Regina City Council Meeting.

Some of the ideas talked about last night are pretty scary. They spoke of "grading" the streets as a temporary measure, simply "capping" concrete sidewalks which are in desperate need of repair with asphalt, and finding a better solution to the ridculously inflated - loan sharkesque - interest rates that the City imposes on Taxpayers if they choose to finance said construction.

This is completely unacceptable, and utterly ridiculous that our Senior City Administration thinks that there truly are no other viable alternatives to fixing our horribly outdated, crumbling streets and sidewalks, which they continue to bitch about day-in, day-out to other levels of government. It's no one else's fault but their own (The City's) that the state of our streets and sidewalks has fallen into such disrepair as they have, to the tune of $2 BILLION, according to City claims. The Feds aren't the ones who chose to budget horribly for decades, fail to plan for a proper road renewal program, or opt to build a disgustingly over-budget City Square Plaza, or a completely unnecessary copycat stadium (Mosaic 2.0).

MAYOR FOUGERE: "[The review] is going to generate some ideas on some program changes ... or whether we even have a Local Improvement Program at all,"

HEY MAYOR: 

Here are a few recommendations that took far less than a year to do, cost ZERO taxpayer dollars and can be implemented ASAP. 
What do you say?

BREAKING: Dundee Realty versus City of Regina

UPDATE:  

Congratulations to NewsTalk 980 CJME for being the first "mainstream" media outlet to cover this story, which we broke right here at chad4regina.com! 

Congratulations to the Regina Leader-Post for being the second "mainstream" media outlet to cover this story. Will they use the same excuse that Rawlco used, though, as to why they hadn't covered it previously?

Good morning Regina!!!!

After a week of unbelievable revelations of (alleged) gross misconduct on the part of several "elite" individuals within our great City, an anonymous tip came in today that stands to put all of that to shame.

In an EXCLUSIVE to the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group, we have become aware of a Court Action between DUNDEE REALTY CORPORATION and the CITY OF REGINA.

The apparent reason for the Court Action stems back to the original Servicing Agreements regarding the construction of Harbour Landing. Upon review of the Court Documents, the issues go back to 2009 and the file has been before the courts since July 27, 2012. It should be noted that Dundee Realty Corporation is the largest land developer in all of Regina, and most certainly is a well known presence in the Canadian Development landscape. It should also be noted that Dundee and the City of Regina have had a pretty close relationship regarding land development in Regina. Well - at least they used to. This Court challenge could certainly cause some serious shifts of power within the development industry in Regina.

It is no secret to anyone in the development industry that there is bad blood between many local companies and that of Dundee - the "big boys" - coming in and taking over the Regina development landscape. In my role at Crawford Homes, I was witness to just how big a player Dundee is in Regina, and I assure you, this is no frivolous lawsuit that Dundee has launched - which is what the City's lawyer, Ms. Christine Clifford, alleges in part of her defense against Dundee. This seems to be a popular stance for her, as this was her stance in both recent Court of Queens Bench actions that were filed against the City by myself over two pretty major issues: - The 2012 Municipal Election (alleged) rigging, and the Regina Revitalization Initiative project being subject to an independent review pending the outcome of the current CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION regarding the project.

STAY TUNED REGINA. 

This story is only just beginning. 

We, at the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group, want to thank you for your continued support, and we welcome any inquiries from the Media to expand on this breaking story.

Time to disband the Regina Downtown BID?

Good afternoon Regina!!!

It has become glaringly obvious that the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District has forgotten what they even exist for. Judith Veresuk, Executive Director, and Leasa Gibbons, Marketing Director, seem to think it's their own personal playground and they can play monopoly with people's hard earned money. What they don't seem to understand is that, the BID is supposed to be finding ways to - I know this might be tough to believe - IMPROVE THE DISTRICT!!!

Did you know? 

The City of Regina has also changed the time limits in the immediate vicinity of the downtown from two hours to one hour? 

Also, they have added more "No Stopping" zones in METERED spots along sections of the downtown.

And, believe it or not - and this is directly from a "Parking Supervisor" (senior ticketer) - there are many in the downtown core who are provided permits from the City to park free all day, who abuse these priveledges a LOT. This is known by the front line staff, but the executives (whose friends are the ones abusing the system of permits) don't care - obviously.

It's high time that the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District either remember why they exist in the first place (to represent ALL Regina downtown businesses - not just a certain family), or they be decommissioned. It is utterly ridiculous that the City was allowed to blow $10-20 MILLION of our tax dollars on the downtown traffic nightmare that is called the Plaza, which has contributed heavily to our downtown parking nightmare, not to mention cost a long time business, the Novia Cafe, their livelihood.

PLEASE GET THIS CITY BACK IN SHAPE!!!

If this City Council won't, I know many who will.

Mayor Fougere Breaks Law Again

Good evening Regina!!

Today, the Regina City Council (Executive Committee) once again voted to break a provincial law and delegate their authority to Mr. Brent Sjoberg, CMA. The mayor doesn't seem to think breaking the law is a big deal, but I know I certainly do!

And then, they considered a report from consultants IBI Group, based out of Ontario, which suggested some pretty common sense ways to fix the downtown, which the former City Council royally screwed up. One recommendation is an off-street parking facility, which is something I recommended way back in February 2012 before I officially launched my Mayoral Campaign. And, it didn't cost me a dime to suggest that. (The consultant's report cost you taxpayers $300,000)

Will you please join me in demanding accountability from this Fascist leader? 

ATTEND THE MAYOR'S OPEN HOUSE ON FRIDAY 9-11:30 AT CITY HALL.

March Against Corruption Demonstration

Good morning Regina!!!

Here is the video I promised you. Monday, I kicked off the March Against Corruption week right here in Regina. There is so much that is happening this week, it is hard to keep up. From the Regina Police Service being outed for breaching privacy for their friends at the Regina Dolphin Club (vis a vis the City of Regina), to City Hall voting on giving more of your tax dollars away to organizations that just don't need it, to City Hall voting on authorizing ANOTHER $100M debt for the Stadium project.

I'll try to keep updating the site with as much as I can, but it's tough with so much going on!

Stay tuned for more.

MARCH AGAINST CORRUPTION - High Noon Monday!

Seven years ago this month, I, along with many other concerned parents, fought desperately to save a school in Moose Jaw, that was in a very similar situation to that of Connaught School. Unfortunately for the Prairie South School Division, they didn't have the benefit of the - highly questionable and very subjective - "structurally unsound" excuse to use. Instead, they opted for the all-too-often-used-in-2007 excuse of "declining enrolment" that many communities were facing in Saskatchewan at the time. Oddly enough though, that school was actually bursting at the seams in enrolment, so of course, that excuse was about as valid as the questionable "structural" problems that the Regina Public School Board is claiming for Connaught School. To see this exact same situation play out before my very eyes once again - it hurts me so much, not only as a taxpayer, but as someone that was directly impacted by the disgusting actions of a select few that only have dollar $igns in their eyes. In Moose Jaw, Ecole Ross School has now been converted to condominums. In Regina, it seems that our construction-friendly Mayor and School Board (vis a vis Provincial Government) are all-too-happy to destroy rich heritage for new and flashy, just to satisfy their construction buddies. 

To the parents and community supporters in the Connaught School area, I have this to say:

KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT!!!

Accept nothing less than a moratorium on any school closures until a truly independent review is done. 

These situations are far too easily manipulated by those with corporate dollars wanting their way. For the School Board to claim structural issues, for example, these issues wouldn't just develop overnight. This happens due to years upon years of wilful neglect, and furthermore, when the School Board refuses to allow an independent second opinion to be provided, something stinks to high heaven.

It is certainly no coincidence that we have all of this record construction happening in a City run by the "former" President of the Saskatchewan Construction Association.

On that note, another interesting development regarding the recent PCL Stadium Announcement:  

Did you know? - PCL Construction was actually the company that provided a "very detailed" breakdown of construction costs for the Stadium Project that the Provincial Government, under the leadership of Ken Cheveldayoff and Premier Brad Wall, proposed to happen back in 2010.

In February 2010, the construction costs were pegged at $336.4 MILLION just for the construction of the stadium alone. Granted, this included a roof, but considering the exhorbitant inflation that Regina and area has seen in the last four years, and that figure assumably uses 2008-2010 construction rates (after all, these reports aren't just thrown together in a month), it certainly makes one wonder - 

How realistic are the costs in this "new" proposal that PCL submitted to the City of Regina? 

More specifically, how on Earth did PCL Construction magically shave off at least $86 MILLION (considering the current project is $250M for construction alone, and the $336.4M should be grossed up significantly to account for construction cost inflation of 4-6 years, one could reasonably assume they've easily shaved off $100-150 MILLION from the 2010 figures) and exactly what features are the taxpayers losing out on with this new TOP SECRET proposal?

PROPOSAL IN CITY DOCUMENTS MAY 2012: 

This is what PCL had to shoot for, and was the absolute maximum they could submit their RFP for. (And are continued into February 2014)

(Ignore the Municipal/Provincial breakdown since that's shot out the window now, as well - surprise, surprise!)

PCL CONSTRUCTION COSTS DETAILED BREAKDOWN FEBRUARY 2010:

One must also ask - Why is the City of Regina entrusting any project to PCL Construction, considering the horrible experience they had with the massively over budget and timeframe City Square Plaza project? (AKA "Pat's Patio" or "Hill's Haven").

DIRECTLY FROM RECOMMENDATION REPORT REGARDING CITY SQUARE PLAZA:

It certainly couldn't have anything to do with PCL's association with many - ultra expensive - downtown highrise projects - could it?

  Nahhhh...I'm sure this is just a coincidence!

It's time to MARCH AGAINST CORRUPTION everyone!

Join us this Monday, March 31, 2014 at City Hall at HIGH NOON!

BREAKING: Loblaw & Fiacco to join forces?

BREAKING:

The Regina rumour mill is abuzz that former Mayoral Candidate David Robert Loblaw has joined forces with former Mayor Pasquale Fiacco in a new proposed Retail/Condo development, that will have an open house TONIGHT. 

Details are sketchy, but it appears that Loblaw and Fiacco have partnered up in a new condo/retail development. If this is true, this is huge news - the question is will the mainstream media pick up on this potential story or just ignore it? 

For those that may not recall, David Robert Loblaw mysteriously dropped out of the mayoral race in 2012. His public excuse was "to focus on business". But his real reason? To focus on making new business relationship with one of the most corrupt in Regina? The rumour has it that this development is being proposed by one of Fiacco's business partners. It's all slowly making sense! Oh, and for the record, Loblaw's chocolate company has also been given "preferential" treatment at City and Chamber sponsored events. This is a little known FACT.

You can read all about the development below, thanks to Mr. Loblaw's incessant tweeting - shameless self-promotion - about the open house. Don't just buy into the excuse that he's simply a disinterested onlooker. The true story will all come out in due course. 

@ChocolatesbyBC: LeaderPost story on tonight's Open House for new condo/retail development on 13th Ave in Cathedral:   http://t.co/g2CeG1TD1l #YQR #YQRcc

March Against Corruption

Good afternoon Regina!!

What are you doing on Monday, March 31, 2014? We here, at the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group, are looking to join in on the global movement to March Against Corruption - Exact time and itinerary to be announced by March 28. We would be honoured if you would join us in this march. We are doing this in an effort to get money out of politics, which we see far too often throughout Canada, North America and the World. Our focus, however, is going to be right here in our own backyard, at the City of Regina. As many have recognized over the past several years, and is no secret to those "in the know", our currently elected municipal officials have let their opinions be swayed far too often by the private interests of the construction and development industry, and this must stop!

This issue became glaringly obvious as a serious concern when the City announced, not surprisingly, that their "preferred" partner for the Stadium Project was PCL Construction. The same company that was apparently behind the horribly-over-budget, and horribly-overdue City Square Plaza project. The same project that actually had a report created to advise City Hall of their numerous mistakes, and how best to learn from this project and avoid these same mistakes in the future. It is quite apparent that the City has not learned from this report, and is setting taxpayers on a course for destruction by allowing this very same company/conglomerate to tackle a $278M project, even though they failed miserably at managing a measly $6M project.

It is high time to get money out of politics, and we are very pleased to have developed a truly viable alternative, which is based on some existing and proposed legislation from around the world. We will talk about this, and much more, at the March, and look forward to bringing attention to this very serious matter that affects each and every one of you in Regina and beyond.

We are proudly standing up for our tax dollars and demand that the City of Regina become truly accountable and transparent about how they are spending our hard earned dollars. 

As well, we will be calling upon the Province of Saskatchewan to enact legislation that prevents the manipulation of elected municipal officials for any private interest. It's time to get the money OUT of politics, one small step at a time. Will you march with us?

March Against Corruption.

BREAKING: Mayor's Assistant Resigns

Good morning Regina!!

UPDATE: The "official" word given to Global Regina (after we broke the news to them) is that Mr. Hulshoff is "retiring", and that the Mayor had known about this for weeks. However, evidence would suggest otherwise - and it should be noted that this was the same excuse provided for Ms. Swidnicki leaving the City of Regina until pressed further by the media. I am very confident that this story will continue to develop over the coming days and weeks.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Well, another day and another resignation. This one is probably the biggest of them all to date. Herman Hulshoff, the Mayor's Chief of Staffs, who replaced Mark Rathwell as the Mayor's Executive Assistant when Fiacco stepped down, is no longer with the Mayor's office.

It is unclear as to whether this was a resignation or a termination, but regardless, this is big. Why did this only happen immediately after public notice of the CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION into the corruption at City Hall? One can only speculate.

Also, important to note, the City of Regina is apparently looking to amend the Regina Revitalization Initiative Borrowing Bylaw from January 27, 2014.

This is the very same bylaw which Mr. Brent Sjoberg misrepresented the truth about on January 27, 2014, in order to apparently influence the votes that evening. Our group placed a call into Service Regina, and after about 30 minutes on hold, they confirmed they know nothing about this. A call was also made to Brent Sjoberg's office, which was forwarded through to the City Manager's office, Mr. Glen Davies, and his assistant, Cathy, confirmed that she knows nothing about this.

STAY TUNED REGINA:

It's only going to get better!! You are now back in control of your tax dollars.

PCL = Plainly Corrupt Lands

Good morning Regina!!! 

The winning bidder for the Stadium Build is none other than one of the MAJOR FUNDERS of the Mayoral Campaign of Mr. Michael Fougere during the 2012 Municipal Election. Is there any reason to believe this was going to be any different?? Was the RFP process truly fair and transparent, or was it as flawed as the one for the Recycling program?

As the founder of the Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group, I am VERY PROUD to share with you the video of my delegation to the Regina Executive Committee yesterday regarding the Regina Revitalization Initiative. You will note that NOT ONE MEDIA OUTLET has dared to broadcast a single second of my speech yet. Why? What was so wrong with what I said? Scared to bite the hand that feeds them? Who knows, who cares.

The FACTS are the FACTS.

PCL Construction contributed quite heavily to the Mayoral Campaign of Mr. Michael Fougere, and others. They were also very active in the "Vote for Continued Growth" campaign that supported only one very obvious contender. This was "outside" of the budget that Mr. Fougere has to publicly disclose, and who knows how much was spent by PCL?

Why So Secretive Mr. Mayor?

EMAIL SENT TO THE MAYOR AND EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP TEAM (AND THE MEDIA) THIS MORNING:

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Good morning Mr. Mayor and members of the Executive Leadership Team:

Considering the respectful requests for information earlier this week were deliberately ignored by your staff, I am hoping you could provide a response this AM regarding how transparent you feel this process has been to date. Considering that there were direct questions regarding a very simple aspect of this project - that should most certainly not be treated as "confidential information" - I am curious to know why your Team decided it was best to wait until the last minute, as has been your past practice - contrary to your public statements of being the most open and transparent level of goveernment.

As I am sure you can appreciate, there are many questions that remain unanswered regarding this project, along with a CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (RPS File #RM14010518) into the actions of Mr. Brent Sjoberg on January 27, 2014 and the attached COURT ACTION that you were served notice of on March 12, 2014.

Could you please advise why you felt it best to keep this information secret from the public until the last minute? For such a historically massive project, which is going to raise our City debt level to record amounts, one would reasonably expect their elected officials to be open and up front about the entire process.

We look forward to your prompt reply regarding this matter. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Best Regards,
Chad A. Novak, CMA
Saskatchewan Taxpayers Advocacy Group
www.chad4regina.com

ALTHOUGH IT WOULD APPEAR THEY ARE "TRANSPARENT" TO THE DEVELOPMENT INDUSTRY AND THEIR "BUDDIES" - How nice!