Queen City Improvement Bureau

In the first half, the tale of two municipal corporations. There is CSIR who is to die! And there is EDR who you will listen to and wish you were dead! In the second half, we have a surprise guest. AND IF YOU DO NOT WANT THE SURPRISE GUEST'S IDENTITY SPOILED READ NO FURTHER! okay… the surprise guest is new councillor Mark Burton from ward 4. Yes! The "compact urban squalor" guy. We talk to him abo...

Some great things passed at city council's first meeting of 2025 including a motion to consider giving surface parking lots their own property tax class, a pilot to explore giving high school students free transit, more. Also, Aidan hates numbers. Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR, Regina community radio.

Our new city council met for their first Executive Committee meeting of 2025 and we take a look at how they distinguished themselves. Spoilers: Sub-awesome. On the agenda, EX25-2 Regina Housing Needs Assessment, EX25-3 2025 Housing Incentives Policy Pilots & Revisions, EX25-4 Office to Residential Incentive Pilot and EX25-6 Speakers' Corner Drainage Renewal Project. Music by Ryan Hill (aka Guidewi...

University of Regina geography professor Vanessa Mathews visits the subbasement to talk about two items coming to council: a motion to set a new property tax classification for nuisance and underused properties (like surface parking lots, for instance), and a motion to start a pilot program for free transit for high school kids. We also talk about the concept plan for the Scarth St pedestrian mall...

We got the Queen City's new mayor, Chad Bachynski, on the phone for 15 min at the crack of dawn so we could pin him down with questions about federal infrastructure funding, the Housing Accelerator Fund, residential upzoning and some ignorant, mildly sweary stuff that federal opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, said about cities. Seriously, what’s Poilievre’s damage? Plus, We're Number Five! And,...

Regina's new council has their first executive committee meeting and it starts with a tax-hike blooding to initiate in the newbs. Take that, Advance Regina! Plus, Pierre Poilievre declares war on all of Canada's cities. What's that guy's damage, anyway? Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

It's our post-election WTF? episode. New councillors. Gone councillors. Advance Regina did stuff. Mayor rhymes with hair. You just know we're going to be riding that gag for four years. Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

The 2024 Regina municipal election finally reaches its climax as results pour in on Nov 13. The Queen City Improvement Bureau was there, capturing every moment of the drama. In the studio with us: renowned election nerds David Loblaw (of the drloblaw.com election site) and Pat Book (former city hall reporter for CJME & The 2024 Regina municipal election finally reaches its climax as results pour i...

Once again, we have city hall reporters Larissa Kurz from the Leader Post & Alex Quon from the CBC in the subbasement to talk about the 2024 city election. We cover all the shenanigans by shadowy forces who are attempting to influence voters. Plus, a mayoral candidate gets a big endorsement from a former mayor. Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR, Regina communi...

NINE FREAKING YEARS of this nonsense! Can you freaking believe it? The Queen City Improvement Bureau went on out over CJTR's airwaves for the first time on Oct 31 2015 and here we are, several elections, multiple scandals, a pandemic, some lawsuits, an asteroid impact, two robot revolutions, that incident with the time slip and a sorry episode with a hyperintelligent shark THAT WE HAD NOTHING TO D...

City election nerd and keeper of the best and most complete online list of council candidates, David Loblaw, visits the subbasement to talk about his love for elections and how he thought the candidates did in the Oct 20 Cathedral Mayoral Candidate Forum. Music by Ryan Hill (aka Guidewire). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

Former mayoral candidate Brandon Abtosway visits the sub-basement to talk about why he ran, why he dropped out, what he learned. Plus, Skuare is coming to downtown. What's up with that? Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

City hall reporters, Larissa Kurz from the Leader Post and Alex Quon from the CBC are in the subbasement for the first QCIB political panel for the 2024 election season. Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR, Regina community radio.

A candidate has dropped out of the mayoral race and we honour their now-defunct campaign in song / butcher Tracy Chapman's Fast Cars. Plus, council is cramming some massively important decisions into their last handful of meetings. We look at how the Indoor Aquatic Centre and Library Central Branch are still causing controversy and keeping council in chambers for hours upon hours. Music by Ryan Hi...

We talk with Kim Sare, senior planner with the City of Regina, about the consultation on the Scarth St pedestrian mall (aka the FW Hill Mall). We find out why they're changing the street, what they've heard, what they're thinking about, what is possible. Then, election update as more mayoral candidates emerge bringing the total number up to seven. And, council debates another possible location for...

Two new, arguably legit contenders for the mayor's seat have emerged so we look at the state of the municipal election race for mid September. Plus, the Riders don't want to pay their back-rent. Music by Guidewire (aka Ryan Hill). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

Aidan couldn't make it to the meeting so instead of the usual nonsense, I held a dance party where I played tracks from the Infrastructure Playlist (first conceived & compiled by Elan Morgan). The podcast version here only includes short snippets from each song. About all that’s left here is an update on the 2024 city election, including coverage of the Regina & District Labour Council candidate e...

Krystal Lewis of Progress Regina fame visits the subbasement to talk about progressive organizing around the municipal election, the current city council record and Hampton Hub. In the second half, we take a look at the city's decision to expand its debt limit. Music by Ryan Hill (aka Guidewire). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

Outgoing ward 3 councillor Andrew Stevens makes his way to the sub-basement to offer some of his tips & tricks for anyone seeking election to Regina city council. We talk about some of his favourite projects from his time on council, even a regret or two. We also discuss the Aug 21 2024 city council meeting and what was &/or wasn't accomplished there such as the reconsideration of the location of...

Outgoing Ward 1 councillor Cheryl Stadnichuk shares her tips and tricks for new councillors. Plus, we talk about the latest evolution of the Indoor Aquatic Facility. Music by Ryan Hill (aka Guidewire). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

Election update 2024, Wascana Pool reopens, Queen Cityhavians excited by new Costco parking lot, four-plex in Cathedral irks social media. Plus, an interview with Bill Nehr, Regina's manager of city projects. We discuss the Muscowpetung Saulteaux proposal for the Yards, the latest baseball stadium study, Housing Accelerator project progress and the North Central revitalization initiative. Music by...

A conversation with Myke Agecoutay from Muscowpetung Saulteaux First Nation about their proposal for an Indigenous business centre at the Yards — a location the city is currently considering for a baseball stadium. Plus, 2024 city election update and the Neighbourhood Plan Review. Music by Eric Hill (aka Guidewire). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR.

It's a council catch-up day in the Bureau. We talk about the aborted permanent emergency shelter location, the approval of the Douglas Ave apartment, the continuing REAL saga, the city is swiming in debt both real and soon-to-be, the library wants to borrow money, new development charges. Clips from the meetings we discuss in this meeting can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@PDCityHall/videos...

We speak with Stu Niebergall from the Regina And Region Homebuilders Association about council's efforts to remove exclusionary single-family zoning and the impacts that will have on the city's residential market. Music by Ryan Hill (aka Guidewire). Originally broadcast on 91.3FM CJTR, Regina's community radio station.

The Queen City Improvement Bureau was "live" on stage at the Artesian on 13th for the Cathedral Village Arts Festival. We played "Name That City Councillor" with Leader Post reporter Larissa Kurz, performed a classic Queen City Tender Moment, and read from the upcoming erotic novel "Pounded By Duplexes: How I Went From NIMBY To YIMBY". Plus, a Q&A session with our audience. Thanks to Neil Adams fr...