Regina mayor's trip to France approved by council

Regina Mayor Sandra Masters’ trip to France has been approved by city council.

Councillors Findura, Mohl, Stevens, Mancinelli as well as Masters herself voted for the motion – while councillors Bresciani, Nelson, Leblanc and Zachidniak voted against.

The trip is to participate in the 80th commemoration of D-Day from June 3 – 9, 2024.

City administration estimates the cost of the trip to be around $6,000. Listed costs include airfare, rail transportation, accommodations and meals.

Masters was invited by the mayors of the French town of Thue et Mue and municipality of Bretteville-l’Orgueilleuse.

The Royal Regina Rifles participated in the Normandy landings and liberation of the town on June 6-7, 1944. The regiment will concurrently host a 10-day Tour of Honour to Europe that week.

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“I think honoring our veterans is incredibly important,” Masters told reporters following the vote.

“Honoring those people from Regina and from southern Saskatchewan who gave their lives for no other reason than [to fight] oppression in the world and the fight against Nazi Germany.”

Coun. Zachidniak raised concerns over the cost of the trip.

Masters explained the cost will be shared between the city clerk’s office and her approximately $32,000 travel budget.

“I have significant money left in my travel budget as just the clerk's office,” she said. “I'm more than prepared on my budget to share in the cost of that. But there's no additional money outside of approved budgets that are already in place.”

The trip will mark Masters' third out-of-country trip in a year. She was a part of the Saskatchewan delegation at Cop28 in December 2023 along with thousands of other participants from around the world.

According to city records, Economic Development Regina estimated the cost of the mission at between $25,000 and $30,000, “which has multiple funding agreements with multiple levels of government,” including the city of Regina.

Masters also travelled to Poland in September 2023 alongside Coun. John Findura during a similar provincial trade mission. That trip also included a stop in the United Kingdom before moving on to Warsaw.

-- With files from Cole Davenport