No drinking yet in Regina and Saskatoon public parks

People in the province’s two largest cities still won’t be able to drink in public parks, at least to start the summer.

During the spring sitting, the provincial government passed its bill to hand authority over to municipalities to decide whether to allow alcohol in public parks.

It’s now in force but, in Saskatoon, it doesn’t look like there’s a big appetite for the change.

Mayor Charlie Clark said in early May that he’s not hearing a big push to do it.

“City council had originally sent a letter during COVID because there were other municipalities that were creating ways for people to gather more safely outdoors and in pilot projects around having alcohol in parks. Since then, obviously we don’t need to find those same creative ways to do that,” he said.

Clark said council has heard concerns from people regarding the issues of addiction and alcohol in the community.

He asked whether this is really a time where the city needs to create a situation in public places where there are more people drinking.

As of now, he said it would be up to someone on council to bring it forward and get support, but he’s not hearing that interest.

In Regina, Mayor Sandra Masters said a report is set to come to city council from administration on the idea.

“It’s actually quite successful in some cities and so we’re looking at best practices,” said Masters.

However, working out the details around implementation could be complicated as the city would also have to work with the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC), which is the body that has authority over Wascana Park. Masters said the PCC isn’t ready to do yet.

Masters said there likely wouldn’t be a final decision on this until August.