In a burst of democratic inclusiveness, Mayor Pat Fiacco said yesterday that he would first “consult with the landlords” before introducing any landlord licensing arrangement in the city.

When asked about his position towards landlord licensing, Mr. Fiacco said he would "have the discussion with" the city's landlords, and would only introduce such a bylaw “if it is beneficial for them.”

Mr. Fiacco made his remarks at a mayoralty debate sponsored by the Regina Realtors’ Association.

A landlord licensing bylaw would require landlords to obtain a license from the city, and to ensure that all rental properties were kept up to code. The proposed bylaw, which candidate Jim Holmes has made a part of his election platform, would enable the city to more effectively monitor landlord compliance with building codes.

Under the current system, the city inspects about 400 substandard housing units per year.

While Mr. Fiacco stated his willingness to consult with landlords regarding their feelings about being regulated, he also expressed the suspicion that such a measure could simply amount to a “tax grab,” in which case Fiacco would not be interested.

 Mayoralty candidate Jim Holmes replied that a landlord licensing bylaw should be designed to meet the needs of tenants first and foremost, and that the licensing fee would only cover the cost of its own administration rather than being used to generate revenue for the city.

Photos: DOM

 A third mayoralty candidate, Darcy Robillard, also took part in the debate, which was held at the Conexus Centre of the Arts and was attended by over a hundred prospective voters.

Devine Provenance

In his opening remarks, Mr. Holmes expressed concern over the city’s infrastructure deficit and rapidly depleting reserves, suggesting that future generations would be forced to pay for the current council’s policy of zero mill rate increases.

“If you liked Grant Devine’s second term,” quipped Holmes, “you’ll love Pat Fiacco’s third term.”

I Hate Regina

In the mayor’s introductory remarks, he highlighted a number of positive trends and events in Regina, including falling crime rates, the “big dig” in Wascana, and back-to-back Rolling Stones concerts. Stopping short of taking personal credit for these boons, Fiacco pointed to “a change in attitude” as the reason for the city's success, specifically citing the city's “I love Regina” campaign, which Fiacco has adopted as his personal credo as well as his re-election campaign slogan.

When asked by an audience member about his own feelings towards the “I love Regina” campaign, Mr. Holmes likened the campaign to proper behaviour in a relationship.

In a relationship, “it’s important to say ‘I love you,’" Holmes said.

"But it’s also important to shovel the walk.”

Holmes went on to suggest that love is demonstrated by actions, and that cutting the snow removal budget, spending the reserves, and failing to rebuild crumbling infrastructure while claiming to love Regina is “disingenuous.”

For his part, Darcy Robillard focused on the duality of his own emotional bond to the Queen City. “I love Regina and I hate Regina,” confessed Robillard, who describes himself as a union activist. Robillard mentioned the city strike last summer as an occasion when he hated Regina, because of all the garbage that accumulated in the alleyways.

Reginans go to the polls tomorrow.

Comments

Written by wagmitfam on 2006-10-24 02:43:08 Thanks for the report Oz. I wasn't able to be there because of prior commitments. I trust Jim did well.

Jim is the Choice Written by Guest on 2006-10-24 06:24:07 After last nights debate I am more convinced that Mr. Holmes is the right choice for Regina ... I do not want another Grant Devine fiasco ... which is where we have been headed under the Fiacco administration. On another note ... council must all so change. We don't need realestate people on council who are looking after "just" themselves ($$$) ... you are suppose to represent the "whole" community ... Pat - you look very worried - you should be.

Time Warp Written by Citizen Wilson on 2006-10-24 07:49:53 Grant Devine?!!! Doctor Emmett Brown called, he wants his Time machine back. C'mon folks, at least get with the 90's.

Wilson's right Written by hugo chavez on 2006-10-24 09:11:25 Fiacco is a modern day Helen Keller. The Reserves depleted, user fees and rates increased. But when B-day(bankruptcy) comes, good ole Pat will pull a miracle out his ass. He won't raise taxes, oh no.  Yeah right !  He's raised taxes more then Archer.

Misguided Delusions Written by Guest on 2006-10-24 09:44:56 You guys need to give your head a shake. Why is it that socialists blame everything on Grant Devine? We've had 15 years of socialist government in this province and if you guys still want to blame Grant Devince for everything provincially and locally, give your head a shake. Thats the problem in this province. People spend too much time looking in the rear view mirror, and forget to see what's ahead of them.     Holmes and his coalition brothers and sisters are so focused on the past and the "way things once were". Fiacco is a forward thinker who's done more for this city in six years than Archer did in his 12.

Good after bad Written by Citizen Wilson on 2006-10-24 10:31:45 So, tossing more money into libraries that are not used, spending more on transit to keep empty buses on the road, and stopping development is a good plan of action? Citizen Wilson has a better plan....we need a stupid tax.     See: www.iheartregina.comI Heart Regina    Chavez: Five dollars

Duplicity? Written by hugo chavez on 2006-10-24 10:47:35 Wilson, You need to deal with your own hypocrisy for not commenting on Bylaw 2002-57 and Rathwell.  Wilson: $5

Re: Misguided Delusions Written by frank furter on 2006-10-24 11:16:35 If you didn't learn anything from the Devine government, then you are most certainly destined to live through another Fiacco, er..I mean Fiasco.  And what exactly, do you believe Devine is being blamed for? And what exactly has Fiacco done for this city? Give me details.

Open Jim Written by Citizen Wilson on 2006-10-24 12:21:34 Didn't Jim stay reticent on his conflict of intrest regarding his wife's position? Why is it my job to know all the rules? I didn't know about #2002-57, but good on ya for finally reading the rule book. I bet your lips are sore. Did you miss the fact the rule book didn't have any pictures?     Back at ya Chavez...five dollars.    See, we are up 20 bucks already, and we haven't even raised collective intelligence one point yet.

Devine Written by hugo chavez on 2006-10-24 13:02:10 In case you didn't know, Devine left the province in such bad shape that the Feds almost took us over. No more province !  Maybe Fiacco can do the same, he is well on his way.

Fiacco has a forward thinking Written by hugo chavez on 2006-10-24 13:13:04 That is laugable. He is caught up in 1990s development plans and his north of dewedney stache went out of style long ago. I am surprised he still doesn't have his mullett.

sticks and stones Written by Citizen Wilson on 2006-10-24 13:18:44 Chavez...almost a Pizza Hut special...five bucks, five bucks...c'mon...one more.....

From administrator Written by pelliott on 2006-10-24 13:26:18 Hello - This is a site administrator. Let's keep lookist comments and taunting of other posters to a dull roar, please. That means all of ya. Reasoned discourse, please.

Written by boris gomez on 2006-10-24 13:40:16 Not sure how far all of this mudslinging and personal attacks are going to get any of us - dont get down to a level where all are sliding through the muck - it paints all of us with the same brush.

Thanks, administrator Written by Guest on 2006-10-24 13:53:36 The Leader-Post has been printing a series of articles on Saskatchewan entitled "One Million, More or Less." A feature of the series has been brief comments from people born and raised in the province who are now living elsewhere. Dr. Jennifer Welsh, an international relations scholar at Oxford University, listed a number of reasons why she liked living and working in England, one being the high quality of public debate. Never having been to England, I can't speak to the accuracy of that statement, but I can certainly make an assessment as to the quality of debate on this website: disappointing. Also disappointing is the accretion of guest-posted links to porn sites. If you want to discourage both debate and donations to defray the cost of website maintenance, keep the status quo.

Written by agentsmith on 2006-10-24 17:06:33 Quote: Also disappointing is the accretion of guest-posted links to porn sites. If you want to discourage both debate and donations to defray the cost of website maintenance, keep the status quo.     Just a note that any porn site links posted anonymously are typically posted by spam bots and should be deleted by admins if they spot them.

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