News Bites
A look at Regina news, in brief
Nail-biter of a race ahead for NDP, Sask. Party
On Sept 25, CTV News published new polling data. The data was collected with the help of Insightrix research, and gives Saskatchewan residents a new look at the upcoming provincial election.
Decided voters have been “neck and neck” since July, CTV News reported. The September data shows 49 per cent of decided voters claiming they intend to vote for the Saskatchewan NDP. According to CTV News and Insightrix, 48 per cent of decided voters will “support the incumbent Saskatchewan Party,” and “four per cent say they’ll support a different party.”
Lang McGlip, one of Insightrix’s research directors explained that 33 per cent of surveyed voters fall into the “undecided” category. McGlip claimed that this number is higher than usual, and says that undecided voters will be engaging more as our provincial election nears and “listening to what both parties have to say.”
Insightrix also found that 55 per cent of those polled feel that it is time for the province to undergo a change in government.
According to Elections SK’s website, Saskatchewan’s general election is scheduled for Oct 28, 2024. To vote in the election, one must be a Canadian citizen, 18 years of age or older on the final day of voting, and, in Elections SK’s terms, “ordinarily a Saskatchewan resident.” Eligible voters can register online to streamline the voting process. Voters can also apply to vote by mail.
$400,000 in funding announced for warming shelter
Carmichael Outreach is a local charity that provides services to folks in the community experiencing poverty or homelessness. Carmichael Outreach’s mission statement stresses their “vision is to see the END of poverty and homelessness” and that “we all need to come together to do our parts, however big or small.” The charity has been active in the Regina community as a registered charity since 1994.
On Sept 20, CBC News reported that Carmichael Outreach will open a warming centre this winter “no later than Nov 1.” The shelter plans to have space for 80 people. The city of Regina has committed $100,000 in funding, with the provincial government contributing the rest of the funding through a one-time grant of $300,000.
CBC News also reported that, last winter, the centre did not open until January “due to funding.” As a result, a warming bus was offered in early January 2024. The bus offered warmth for twelve hours a day – from 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. and was located in front of Carmichael outreach.
This year, funding has come in time to ensure a warming centre is available to help work towards ensuring vulnerable people have a warm place to go during Saskatchewan’s life-threateningly cold months.
Still, the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation (SCIC) has a “First Fall Frost Map” which predicts frost dates across the province. The dates “may vary by as much as 15 days,” according to SCIC. Dates range from Aug 28 to Sept 25, meaning that Saskatchewan will likely see frost by Oct 9, representing a potential gap between the onset of cold nights and the opening of the warming shelter.
Cathedral Community Fridge fire “unites” community
Between the hours of three and four in the morning on Saturday, Sept 21, the Cathedral Community Fridge, a free food resource in the city working to combat food insecurity in the community was “badly burned,” Bree Kroner, an organizer told CBC News.
According to a video posted to the community fridge’s Instagram, the fridge was set on fire, but the organization is “yet to independently confirm” whether or not the fire was set intentionally.
Despite the fire, the Cathedral Community Fridge organizers haven’t been discouraged. “The fridge may have been physically destroyed, but the fire only unites us as a community even more,” one volunteer stated in a video posted shortly after the fire.
Rebuilding began on Sept 22, and Monday-Thursday food and hamper deliveries continued throughout the week in spite of newfound challenges.
While the fridge is being repaired, those with donations are being asked to “place donations on a clean surface on the fridge deck, or hand them directly to folks at the fridge.”
