City of Regina now says there are no biohazards where city hall encampment was located

The City of Regina says it has determined there are no biohazards in the fenced-off portion of the city hall courtyard where an encampment was located earlier this year.

Initially, the city said the fence was in place because the lawn needed to be replaced because of a potential biohazard.

The area has been fenced off since July when the encampment was dismantled.

After initially believing the area was contaminated, city manager Niki Anderson said they now know that is not the case.

However, the fence will remain in place until the lawn is fully restored.

It’s a project the city says it is not currently prioritizing and therefore could not give a timeline for how long the fence could remain in place.

“The fence is not there because of biohazards, Anderson said. “The fence is there right now because we are not prioritizing it over other planned work in the summer,” she added.

On Sept.7, Mayor Sandra Masters said they believed the lawn was very polluted as a result of the encampment.

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“The ground is very polluted,” she said. “It is essentially a biohazard, so my understanding is you’d have to peel back at least six inches if you go back to grass again.”

Some feel the fence is only in place to prevent another encampment from being established.

Prescott Demas who was involved with a teepee camp near the legislative building in 2018 feels this city has been looking for excuses to keep the fence up.

“The fence is really just to keep people from coming back,” he said.

The city has estimated it could cost around $60,000 to restore the lawn in front of city hall.

-- With files from Wayne Mantyka.