The government-controlled Provincial Capital Commision is refusing to release a governance report that recommends transparency.

That report was referenced in a 2014 document, called The Heart of Saskatchewan - Wascana Centre, that outlines a comprehensive review of Wascana Centre that was launched in 2011 and informed the provincial government's decision to take control of the park. The Heart of Saskatchewan summarizes several smaller reports that made up the larger review.

The government quietly put The Heart of Saskatchewan online on March 20, 2017 — without notice to the public — just 2 days before it brought down its controversial 2017/18 budget.

In that budget, the province revealed it was taking over Wascana Centre by eliminating the Wascana Centre Authority (WCA), which was the province's partnership with the City of Regina and the University of Regina, and replacing it with the Provincial Capital Commission (PCC), an entity controlled by the province.

When the province announced the move, Regina Mayor Michael Fougere raised concerns about the province having complete control under the PCC, whereas it had been unable to make a move under the WCA without the support of at least one of the other partners.

Minister Christine Tell appeared to reference The Heart of Saskatchewan on April 10, 2017 while explaining the rationale behind the change to the Crown and Central Agencies committee. Tell said "the recommendation in this review was for the province to assume responsibility for Wascana Centre."

She said the review, which was authorized by the WCA, recommended "a simple structure of governance led by the government of Saskatchewan as the best option to maintain the park and preserve it for future generations."

In 2017, Minister Christine Tell said the best way to preserve Wascana Park for future generations is for the provincial government to take it over. (The Heart of Saskatchewan - Wascana Centre report)

'There is a need to be open and transparent to the public'

Some of the reports summarized in The Heart of Saskatchewan have been concealed from the public to this day, despite one of the key findings from the report on governance being, "there is a need to be open and transparent to the public."

While the province has declined to release the reports for now, it says it is working on CBC's request to provide them.

"To share these reports, the PCC needs to follow the proper board process," a spokesperson said.

The PCC board chair is Mike Carr, the Deputy Minister of Central services who reports directly to Minister Ken Cheveldayoff. The other two government members of the board are Regina MLAs Laura Ross and Warren Steinley.

U of R administrator David Button represents the university while Councillor Barbara Young represents the City of Regina.

Regina MLA Warren Steinley is one of three government members on the Provincial Capital Commission. It is the organization that must approve the release of the confidential reports. (Warren Steinley/Facebook)

A series of secret documents

The Heart of Saskatchewan says the board launched the review to ensure the WCA had the right governance and funding models to address the park's deteriorating infrastructure.

All of the reports generated by the larger review are summarized in The Heart of Saskatchewan. Some of them are public while others are being kept confidential.

Public reports:

Confidential reports:

Alternate sources of Revenue - WCA hired a consultant to explore the possibility of generating revenue from coffee shops, cafes, hotels and high density residential development. According to the summary in The Heart of Saskatchewan, "none of the options could be expected to add significant dollars to the ongoing operating, repair and maintenance costs of Wascana Centre."

- WCA hired a consultant to explore the possibility of generating revenue from coffee shops, cafes, hotels and high density residential development. According to the summary in The Heart of Saskatchewan, "none of the options could be expected to add significant dollars to the ongoing operating, repair and maintenance costs of Wascana Centre." Forecasted operating costs - This report was, "to assess operational costs, examine possibilities for efficiencies, and determine future operational costs."

- This report was, "to assess operational costs, examine possibilities for efficiencies, and determine future operational costs." Governance and operating model options - This report considered, "five alternative scenarios… for the future governance of Wascana Centre Authority."

Park 'underfunded,' says comprehensive review

The Heart of Saskatchewan said Wascana Centre had a governance problem which led to difficulties maintaining the park.

"There is also a lack of clarity amongst the funding partners about who is responsible for maintenance and capital investments in the Centre, resulting again in the Centre's upkeep being underfunded," says the summary in The Heart of Saskatchewan.

At the time of the review, the park was being governed by the WCA.

"The fiscal challenges faced by the Authority have resulted in investments being scaled back… and making capital investments only when infrastructure failure occurs or public safety is at risk. This has created a problem of needed maintenance in the Centre being delayed."

The Heart of Saskatchewan highlights "the declining condition of infrastructure" in Wascana Centre, noting that an additional approximately "$54 million will be needed over the next 22 years for repair, replacement and enhancements." It points out that "annual operating costs are also expected to rise from $6.5 million to $10 million over the next 25 years."

As potential solutions, The Heart of Saskatchewan considered ways to cut costs (Forecasted Operating Costs report) generate new revenue (Alternate Sources of Revenue report) and govern the park differently (Governance and operating model options). All of those reports are currently under wraps.

The report, The Heart of Saskatchewan notes that Wascana Centre is underfunded with a growing list of expenses. (The Heart of Saskatchewan - Wascana Centre report)

Wascana report says province should take control of park

While the public is unable to see those reports, The Heart of Saskatchewan does provide a summary of them.

It's unclear how accurate or complete the summaries are.

The Heart of Saskatchewan says the governance review considered five possible models of governance for Wascana Center. It doesn't provide a list of those options.

It does highlight what it calls "two key recommendations."

Maintain the status quo with increased funding.

Wind down Wascana Centre Authority, with the responsibility for stewardship falling to each of the landowners.

It doesn't explain how these two points, which seem contradictory, could both be considered "key recommendations."

The summary concludes by saying "after much review and analysis, the option that provided the best opportunity to preserve the legacy of Wascana Centre as the legislative grounds in the province's capital city was determined to be the Government of Saskatchewan leading the development of Wascana Centre and assuming responsibility for the Centre."

It was this conclusion that Minister Christine Tell was likely referencing when she defended the government's decision to take over running of the park following the March 2017 budget.

The Heart of Saskatchewan says at the time of the review Wascana Centre was underfunded which made it difficult to maintain existing infrastructure. (The Heart of Saskatchewan - Wascana Centre report)

Summary report was never approved by WCA says Mayor

Mayor Michael Fougere was the Chair of WCA when The Heart of Saskatchewan was forwarded to the government for comment in 2014.

CBC asked him how he could author a report like this in 2014 and then protest in 2017 when the government did in fact take over the running of the park by introducing the Provincial Capital Commission.

"This report was never approved by the board of directors of the Wascana Centre Authority," he said. "It was a working document and we were looking for the province's perspective on this."

He said that by 2016, the board hadn't heard back from the provincial government so he wrote a letter reminding the province of the request for feedback. He said that in that May 2016 letter he noted the relationship among the WCA partners had been much better of late and in light of the progress "the board would also support other alternatives such as continuing with the existing unique partnership model that was formalized in 1962," referencing the WCA partnership between the province, university and city.

Fougere said he was blindsided by the province's announcement that it was eliminating the WCA and establishing the PCC. He said this was done without consultation.