Regina's top 3 paid officials in 2025 no longer work for the city

Regina's top 3 paid officials in 2025 no longer work for the city

Top 3 were former interim CEO of REAL, fired city manager, dismissed police chief

The three highest-paid officials with the City of Regina in 2025 — who received a combined $1.1 million in remuneration — no longer work for the city.

The figure is being criticized by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

"It shows that the city isn't being as careful as it could as a custodian of taxpayers' money," said Gage Haubrich, the prairie director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Former city manager Niki Anderson earned $460,381 in remuneration, according to a draft version of the City of Regina's 2025 public accounts, which includes a list of all employees that receive more than $50,000 in compensation from the city.

Anderson's remuneration is broken down into $214,916 in base remuneration and $245,565 in "other" remuneration, which can include "vacation credits, sick credits, allowances, membership fees of $1,000 or greater, and/or amounts paid to an employee upon termination."

Anderson was fired in a 10-1 vote by Regina city council in July and was the second city manager in three years to be fired without cause.

Haubrich said that's a concerning detail.

"Once is a fluke. Two starts to show a pattern. That can't happen again," said Haubrich.

"The city shouldn't be making a habit of firing people in the top job and having to pay out hundreds of thousands of dollars of taxpayers' money to get those people to go away."

An explanation for Anderson's dismissal was never provided, although Mayor Chad Bachynski told CBC News in a year-end interview that city council "decided to make a change."

"These aren't made lightly recognizing that there can be financial implications to those decisions. But you know, we have to weigh the balance of that decision and in what are the best interests of the city moving forward," Bachynski said in December.

A new full-time city manager has yet to be named.

In a statement, the City of Regina said it would not discuss details about the departure of individual employees.

"Like any large organization, staffing changes can occur at any time and for a variety of reasons, not all of which are foreseeable," read the statement.

Regina police chief fired after messages to board member investigated

Roberta Engel earned $343,241 as the acting president and CEO of Regina Exhibition Association Limited (REAL).

Engel was not fired but left for a role in the private sector.

Former police chief Farooq Sheikh received $306,417 in compensation, consisting of $276,654 in base remuneration and $29,763 in "other" remuneration.

Sheikh was fired in October after an investigation into messages he sent to a member of the board of police commissioners.

The messages were deemed inappropriate and Sheikh was fired with cause. He did not receive severance.

Two other employees who were dismissed by the City of Regina, after Anderson's termination, also appear in public accounts.

Ly Pham, who served as Anderson's chief of staff, and Audra Young, the City of Regina's director of Indigenous relations and community development, were terminated on April 30, 2025.

Pham earned $240,103 in remuneration from the city in 2025 — $89,038 in base remuneration and $151,065 in "other" remuneration.

In 2025, Young earned $83,805 in base remuneration and $113,721 in "other" remuneration for a total of $197,526 in compensation.

Young and Pham filed and then later settled separate lawsuits against the City of Regina for their respective terminations.

Engel is not the only president and CEO of REAL to make the list.

Rick Bennett received $179,692 in remuneration from the City of Regina, despite only serving five months in the role.

Bennett cited "personal and family reasons" in his decision to leave REAL.

Semenchuck receives nearly $150K

Former Regina police sergeant Robert Semenchuck also appears on the list.

Semenchuck quit the Regina Police Service in April 2025 after being charged with one count each of breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer.

This domestic violence survivor describes how a Regina police officer conned 33 women

In February 2026, Semenchuck pleaded guilty to using police databases to target more than 33 women, some of whom he pursued intimate and personal relationships with.

He received a two-year conditional sentence, served in the community, followed by three years of probation.

According to public accounts, Semenchuck received $58,660 in base remuneration and $90,179 in other remuneration. In total, Semenchuck received $148,839 in compensation from the City of Regina in 2025.

Const. Clinton Duquette, who is currently facing charges under Saskatchewan's Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, also appears in the city's public accounts.

Duquette is accused of using the police service's database to access the personal information of six people, including his former romantic partner, the ex-partner's sibling and the ex-partner’s previous partner.

He did it 67 times over three years, according to a public report from the provincial Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

Duquette's disciplinary punishment was a single-day suspension without pay, participation in mandatory police ethics training and further training related to privacy legislation. He is also subject to random audits for a minimum of two years.

Duquette, who remains an active officer with the Regina Police Service, received $123,707 in remuneration in 2025.

Alexander Quon is the provincial affairs reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. He has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in freedom of information requests and data reporting. He can be reached at: alexander.quon@cbc.ca.