School zone speeding tickets will not be refunded: Fougere

People who got a ticket for speeding through a school zone in Regina during the COVID-19 lockdown are out of luck.

In July, the city considered the idea of handing out refunds on those tickets because kids weren’t in the classroom.

However, that idea has now been given the boot.

Mayor Michael Fougere said in a news conference Thursday that it’s simply too complicated to pay back the tickets.

“During the pandemic, we did not stop those tickets being issued,” Fougere said during a media conference where he unveiled his 10-year economic vision for Regina.

“(Ticketing) is a provincial program, which we participate in for our school zones. It is very difficult to identify the individuals who had those tickets to give them refunds. The province discouraged that from happening, as did SGI, so we have not pursued that further.”

In contrast, the province’s other major city handled the issue quite differently.

Saskatoon stopped handing out school zone tickets shortly after classrooms were closed in March.

Now that kids are back in class, the Bridge City will be handing out fines to drivers going faster than 30 kilometres per hour near a school.

Fougere’s economic vision

During the news conference, Fougere and members of Economic Development Regina revealed some long-term goals to make Regina the best city in Canada by 2030.

“Regina is well-positioned for a strong economic recovery and a decade of sustained prosperity,” Fougere said. “This plan will help us continue to diversify our economy into a technology, agri-food and sustainable mining and energy powerhouse.”

The plan has 19 goals, some of which include:

• Creating a roadmap to promote the technology industry;
• Encouraging agriculture and food development;
• Making an event fund to attract, and host events, conventions and tradeshows;
• Hosting more events and activities during the winter; and
• Growing and developing Wascana Park in partnership with the Provincial Capital Commission.

“I believe in the potential of our great city to grow in jobs and prosperity to benefit all Regina citizens,” Fougere added. “If re-elected, I will ensure this plan moves forward and we grow a diverse, beautiful and vibrant Queen City like never before.”

The plan can be seen here.