Some Regina city councillors feel allowing alcohol in parks will lead to problems

A proposal to allow alcohol consumption in a number of parks around Regina is facing strong opposition from some city councillors who feel it’s unnecessary and could lead to problems.

City administration has recommended that alcohol consumption be tried in 12 of Regina’s 314 parks, approximately one in each ward. They feels it’s the best way to gauge the impact.

“We have more issues or more things that we should be looking into or looking after than creating more problems,” Coun. John Findura said.

Coun. Terina Nelson said the feedback she’s received from residents in her ward is that they fear they will end up facing harassment from people who have been drinking alcohol in a park.

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“If all you’re going to use to make your decisions is what you hear through Be Heard or the people that are contacting you, you will probably never implement it,” city manager Niki Anderson said.

There are some city councillors however who are in support of the idea, including Bob Hawkins and Andrew Stevens.

“I’m not someone who believes that the heavy hand of government regulation should be used to unnecessarily restrict the freedom of Regina residents to enjoy themselves responsibly,” Hawkins said.

“I suspect that we are just legalizing what people are doing already in the park and a lot of this sounds like the conversation we had with the legalization of cannabis. It was supposed to be mayhem. It did not transpire that way,” Stevens added.

Other councillors want to change which parks are being considered. They have been given until 4 p.m. Thursday to make alternate suggestions before the matter goes to a final vote next week.

The new list won’t include Wascana Park which is where most people would want to go to picnic and have fun.

The park is controlled by the Provincial Capital Commission which feels more public consultation is needed before a decision is made on whether to introduce alcohol to the park.