Meet Regina Northeast's six byelection candidates

Residents of Regina Northeast have a lot of choice at the polls on September 12.

Six candidates are vying to take a seat in the provincial legislature to represent the riding.

Abyelectionwas called after former MLA Kevin Doherty left politics for the private sector back in March.

Here's a look at who voters have to choose from (in alphabetical order):

GaryGrewal- Saskatchewan Party

GaryGrewalmoved to Regina in 1983 from India. After attending theUniversityof Regina, he entered thehospitalityindustry, owning hotels and sandwich shops.

He is apast president of the Saskatchewan Cricket Association and has volunteeredwith the India Canada Association and theSikh Society of Regina.

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Grewalsaid he wanted to be a Saskatchewan Party candidate because he admired how they made Regina internationally-known.

"I'm looking forward to working under the leadership of Scott Moe and the Saskatchewan Party," he said.

According to Grewal, the biggest concern for Saskatchewan is the carbon tax.

Ken Grey - PC Party of Saskatchewan

Ken Greyis aparatransitbus driver in Regina who has long been involved in politics.

He is a past president of the Young New Democrats and ran for the SaskatchewanNDPin the 2007 election for Saskatoon Northwest.

Grey said he wasinitiallyattracted to the NDP because he is an economic nationalist, an ideology that favours state intervention in the economy.

He said he left the party afterhe felt it no longer aligned with those values. He tried formingthe Living Sky Party in 2016.

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In the end, he joined the Progressive Conservative Party of Saskatchewan.

The biggest issue he said is facing his constituency is the rising cost of living. Grey saidhe'll address this by giving a voice to the fiscal conservative.

He said he has three adopted special needs children and understands what it's like to deal with government services and struggle to pay the bills.

"What I really hope to do, win or lose, is that the government will take a message that they can't just continue to spin politics. There are average people out there, working hard to try and make ends meet. Quite frankly, I don't think theirrhetoricmatches the realities out there," he said.

Reid Hill - Saskatchewan LiberalParty

Reid Hill moved from Canada's reserve force to politics.

He was in the army reserve for three years and has abachelor'sdegree in history from the University of Regina.

Hill said people have been sharing with him how they are havinga hard time getting by.

"Where can we spend the money more proactively? Do our healthcare and education need to grow? I think so. And they need their funding restored," said Hill.

He said that if elected he would argue against government spending unless it provides a public service and for less tax breaks to large corporations.

Yens Pedersen - Saskatchewan New Democratic Party

Yens Pedersen wants to represent a strong NDP opposition in Saskatchewan.

The lawyer, small business ownerand father of two has lived in Regina for the past 20 years.

Pedersen has twice tried to win a seat for Regina South, losing in both the 2007 and 2011 elections.

He also lost a bid for leadership of the Saskatchewan NDP in 2009.

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Pedersen said he is concerned about the cuts to education and healthcare. He said if elected he would call on the government to reverse the cuts it's made.

"This government has shown they are complacent, they are getting arrogant, they are taking people's support for granted. And now that they have run out of money, we are seeing a real meanness, a lack of compassion and empathy for the struggles people have," he said.

MarkRegel- Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan

MarkRegelis a father who has workedatEvrazRegina for 21 years.

He joined the Western Independence Party of Saskatchewan after meeting leader NeilFenskethrough Facebook.

Regeldecided he wanted to do more than typing on his keyboard to address his concerns about crime rates and education cuts.

"Teachers educate our children and are basically raising our children for part of the day. Cutting our education funding is not going to make it attractive to go into that field. If we don't pay them properly, we aren't going to attract a high-quality of people to be teachers," Regel said.

Some of his ideas include funding supports to stop gang violenceand adding a drug and alcoholrehabilitationfacility.

He said the party isn't a separatist movement but they do want Saskatchewan to have more of a voice in Canada andspecifically want to getrid of equalization payments.

Jessica Schroeder - Saskatchewan Green Party

Jessica Schroeder is Mtis mother who lives in Glencairn.

She started volunteering with the Green Party a few years ago and said she likes being able to meet her neighbours and hear their concerns.

She said fairness in wages is one concern she has heardvoiced. She would like to see a $15 minimum wage and more jobs created by building sustainable energy projects.

Another idea she said she would bring to the legislature is addingIndigenous language lessons tograde schools.

"People should vote for me if they are concerned about fairness for people of all nationalities, fairness for people in all income brackets, and for people who are proud of their Saskatchewan heritage," she said.