Murray Wood: Is it time to review royalty rates in Saskatchewan?
Murray Wood says he's hearing people wonder how Saskatchewan keeps running deficits with all of the activity in the reso...
The City of Regina has announced its appointment of Patricia Farnese as its new integrity commissioner.
The integrity commissioner is an independent officer tasked with investigating and settling potential violations of the City of Regina’s Code of Ethics Bylaw, which applies to members of city council.
Read more:
- Regina City Council votes to fire city manager Niki Anderson
- Controlled burn taking place at Wascana Park for first time
- Regina city council greenlights its 2026-29 strategic plan
Farnese is set to start the job on Jan. 1, 2026, taking over from Angela Kruk, whose term ends on Dec. 31, 2025.
Integrity commissioners serve for terms of up to four years.
“Public trust in government is built through transparency and an unwavering commitment to ethical conduct. I am honoured to serve Regina by providing independent oversight and supporting Council in upholding the highest standards of integrity,” said Farnese in a city news release.
According to the release, Farnese has more than 20 years of law experience.
The newly appointed commissioner has previously worked as a clerk with the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal; as a senior law fellow, law teacher and Associate Professor of Law at the University of Saskatchewan; and as a senior grievance officer with the University of Saskatchewan.
She has also taken on positions with the Government of Saskatchewan (2011-2014), Justice in the High Court of Belize (2022-2024), and the Government of Canada’s Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal (since 2016).
In addition to her various roles in government and education, Farnese also runs her own law firm.
“Farnese’s extensive judicial and adjudicative experience equips her well to respond to inquiries and investigate complaints of unethical conduct,” wrote the city news release.
“In her previous roles, she has adjudicated matters involving professional conduct and the application of various codes of ethics.”
According to the news release, the City of Regina began to seek out applications for a new commissioner in June, as it’s the final year of Kruk’s term.
During Kruk’s tenure, she outlined a report recommending that former city councillors Dan LeBlanc and Andrew Stevens apologize to the then-city manager, Niki Anderson for filing a lawsuit against her for not including homelessness as a line-item in the 2023 city budget. The lawsuit was thrown out of court.
Read more:
