City council votes to try moving federal transit cash towards building new pool

As gas prices continue to climb, some might be turning to public transportation to save money.

And now, Regina’s city council hopes to take money away from transit to build something else: A new indoor pool.

On Wednesday, council voted unanimously to try and move funding from the “Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program” towards building a new aquatic centre. That money from the federal government had been earmarked for improving public transit.

Mayor Sandra Masters joined the Greg Morgan Morning Show to explain the decision.

First, she defended her position on public transit.

“It doesn’t hinder us on the Master Transit Plan. We’ll use the electrification of buses as an example. That plan is in place as our fleet gets retired and it’s replaced with electric vehicles. We already have it coming into the 2023 budget,” she said.

She also believes a new pool is long overdue.

“From a priorities list, an aquatic centre has been outstanding for about 12 years now. We’re underserved for that type of facility,” Masters said.

However, just because council agrees doesn’t mean it will get to move the money over.

Since it’s a federal program, the Trudeau government will need to approve the move first.

Even then, that funding won’t pay for the entire project.

“It’s a cost-sharing program. So the federal government contributes some money, the provincial government contributes some money and the cities are left with about the last 26 per cent,” Masters explained.

While council hopes to fill a new pool up with water, one group is worried about water in a different area.

Get the Lead Out, an advocacy group, put out a news release slamming the city for not redirecting that money towards replacing lead pipe connections.

Some of the city’s connections are still made of lead, especially in the Cathedral and Heritage neighbourhoods.

Heather Dedman is with the group.

“Highly toxic lead is leaching into our household taps at alarming levels. Failing to grasp every available penny to end lead contamination is a dereliction of public health standards,” she said in the release.

Masters defended the decision not to move the extra cash towards fixing the pipes.

“We’ve already got a plan in place for the lead pipe replacement. It was approved last fall. It’s underway,” she said.