Conservation groups, consisting of Ducks Unlimited and the McKell family, have engaged in legal action against the City of Regina over the proposed Prince of Wales extension project. In a statement of claim dated Aug. 18, Ducks Unlimited Canada in addition to Shirley McKell, Barbara McKell, and Doug McKell, requested the city abandon the project entirely. The groups say the proposed project will directly encroach on the McKell Wascana Conservation Park and therefore violate a binding conservation agreement for the area. The McKell family owns parcels of native prairie and wetland as part of the prairie pothole region on the southeastern edge of Regina. Beginning in 2003-04, the McKell family began discussions that would ultimately lead to the creation of the Wascana East Conservation Project, later dedicated the McKell Wascana Conservation Park by the Duke of Edinburgh in 2005. The statement of claim classifies the city’s actions throughout the past decade, including a pair of planning reports in 2012 and 2022 focused on the extension of Prince of Wales, as breaching that initial agreement. According to the document, the City of Regina has said alternative routes will not encroach on the preserved lands - claims which the conservation groups oppose. The statement of claim requests the city declare it is bound by the conservation agreement and has breached actively breached it. Additionally, orders that the city comply with the conservation agreement and refrain from advancing any development that would encroach or affect the McKell Wascana Conservation Park were also requested. “We trust that City Council will be fully apprised of this lawsuit and the serious legal, reputational and financial consequences the City faces before any decision is made to proceed with this fundamentally flawed plan,” the document read. CTV reached out to the City of Regina, who declined to comment due to the matter being before the courts. Ducks Unlimited and the McKell’s are not the only ones pushing back against the city. Heritage Regina is also in support of the preservation of the park; they penned a letter just last week to city council and administration. “We think it’s a really important piece of Regina’s living and cultural heritage. It’s kind of hundreds of acres of untouched, native prairie that that has remained protected for decades. And the goal of the park establishment and easement is to keep it that way,” Nathaniel Hak, vice president of Heritage Regina said. Karin Steuber, executive director of Heritage Regina, said the main concern is making sure there is an archaeological assessment done. “So that if there are archaeological sites there or artifacts and belongings, that these are properly recorded,” she said. Archaeological assessments are currently being undertaken as part of the city’s functional study for the proposed road extension. Heritage Regina also added that disturbing the park would be a step backward in terms of the city’s sustainability efforts. “The City of Regina has a lot to be proud of in terms of the kind of efforts towards sustainability and heritage preservation that they have taken in the last several decades. And we encourage them to keep the park intact so as not to start backsliding on those commitments that have been made,” Hak said.
