YEAR IN REVIEW: Masters dealt with ups and downs of COVID pandemic in 2021

It was a roller-coaster of a year for Sandra Masters — and the COVID-19 pandemic had a lot to do with that.

“It was (a year) of learning,” Masters said when asked how she would describe her first full year as Regina’s mayor. “It kind of has a shadow over it due to COVID and I think we’ve seen some ups and downs through that.”

Across the world, 2021 was a year filled with hope as restrictions loosened and vaccines became available.

But with the Delta and Omicron variants, restrictions have returned after being relaxed in the summer.

“I think the unpredictability of COVID is difficult for everyone,” Masters said. “We continue to try to adjust and adapt. I’m impressed with the citizens of Regina — that kind of toughness they have about them and it keeps coming through.

“I think by and large all of Regina has been incredibly adaptable and practical. They are looking to the medical experts and to the level of governments to identify, based on the medical evidence, what the best path forward is.”

She admits there is a mental aspect to dealing with COVID that has been exhausting for people in Regina.

“When I run into (people) at different events that we’ve held, they are excited to be out (and) they love their community,” Masters said.

There has been a vocal group of protesters in Regina who are against restrictions and the requirements surrounding vaccines. Those protests have taken place throughout the city, including outside of hospitals and outside the homes of politicians and health officials.

“I live in a country which deeply values the right to opinions and rights to choose. I think to be outside of a hospital, the language I used was ‘disgusting,’ just given the pressure (health-care workers are under),” Masters said.

“Even if your ICU ward isn’t full, no one can predict two weeks from now if it’s not going to be full so they’ve been living under a constant pressure.”

There were some light-hearted moments that came from COVID for Masters and Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark.

The two engaged in a lip-synch bet in June which concluded with Masters as the winner after Regina had more people per capita get vaccinated. Clark ended up singing along to The Last Saskatchewan Pirate.

When the two did a similar bet in July, Masters knew they were facing an uphill battle: The second one wasn’t on a per-capita basis and Saskatoon has a higher population.

“As soon as I took the bet, I knew I was going to lose,” Masters said with a laugh.

That gave her and her team ample time to create and produce a video to It Takes Two by Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock.

“I think it was great for the City of Regina. It was really well-received and people that maybe had been tuning out of COVID had maybe tuned into it. Even if you got 100 extra vaccines out of it, it was worth it,” Masters said.

But along with dealing with COVID, there have been more traditional duties as the mayor that Masters has had to become familiar with, including lengthy council meetings.

“I think we have councillors who are incredibly passionate about a variety of things and I think you can get drawn into the weeds easily and you’ve got to try and pull it back up from there,” Masters said. “I’m guilty of it as well, make no mistake.”

One of the more difficult meetings Masters was a part of was the debate surrounding a ban on conversion therapy on July 14. Almost 30 delegates spoke at the meetings, both for and against the law.

“It was deeply personal,” Masters said. “There were comments made by some that were hurtful.

“I knew I was adjudicating a meeting to be hypervigilant from a teleconference — you can’t see them speak, you can only hear there — about ensuring you’re cutting off a conversation which is actually going to be hurtful to people.”

One of the things Masters accomplished was the efficiency review she promised during her 2020 campaign. It was completed and identified 53 money-saving opportunities within six city departments.

But while it was something she wanted to see done, she didn’t dwell on it for long.

“I have a tendency to enjoy things for about five minutes and then it’s, ‘OK, what’s next?’ which can be taxing to people around me,” Masters said.

“It feels like we’ve got a lot of work in front of us. It’s only six departments, so how can you lift and shift lessons learned from those into other departments so that we can actually transform culture?”

And as she gets ready to enter her second full year as Regina’s mayor, she’s hoping some of those changes can pay dividends when it comes to helping Regina continue to grow.

“We are public servants and we have a duty to serve the public to the best of our ability, to protect the assets of the public that are funded by taxpayer money and so we’ve got some work ahead of us,” Masters said.