During a press conference Wednesday, Regina Mayor Michael Fougere thanked the people of Regina for their resiliency through the Covid-19 crisis and urged people to keep following guidelines set out by the provincial and federal governments.
Fougere also commended the most recent announcement made by the provincial government, restricting public gatherings to no more than 10 people and closing non-essential businesses.
“This is something the City of Regina has been hoping for, for quite some time, and we’re very pleased the province has moved forward,” said Fougere. “This is a strong and tangible way for us to demonstrate that we are reducing the possibility of the spread of this virus, and that’s what this is all about.”
Fougere went on to share more details about the previously announced school lunch program.
The program will distribute more than 1,000 school lunches to help families who rely on lunch programs previously provided by schools in the city.
The initiative is through the cooperation of REACH, Salvation Army, Chili for Children and the City, in an effort to address the loss of the school lunch program no longer operating due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Packages will be given out Monday to Friday from 12:30 pm to 4 pm at a different community centre each day.
The distribution sites for the rest of the week are the mâmawêyatitân centre on Thursday and the Core Ritchie Neighbourhood Centre on Friday.
Fougere added that initiatives like this are just part of what Reginans do for each other.
“It’s all about a team effort in our city, it happens all the time,” said Fougere. “When we have people in need, people come together and do some really wonderful things.”
The Mayor also announced changes in the way the city carries out permit and inspection services including making permit applications only available online.
Building inspections will no longer be conducted in person, instea inspectors will use live- video conferencing to conduction inspections remotely.
He added that service levels will remain the same unless communicated otherwise
Fougere said the changes made are part of an effort to keep the city’s economy moving.
The mayor once again voiced his pleasure in the way the provincial and federal government have handled the ever changing COVID-19 situation.
“We have three levels of government working together for the benefit of our residents,” said Fougere. “It’s all about the health and safety of individuals to make sure they’re safe, their families are safe, and we can all get through this, because we will get through this, and when we do, we will all be stronger for it.”
