Regina mayor, 8 councillors back city manager, condemn lawsuit that implicates her

Regina's mayor and eight city councillors are backing the city manager and condemning a recently filed lawsuit that implicates her.

Coun. Dan LeBlanc, a lawyer, filed a lawsuit with the Court of King's Bench last month on behalf of Coun. Andrew Stevens and local activist Florence Stratton. It alleges the city administration purposely subverted the will of the elected council.

The lawsuit seeks a judicial order directing city manager Niki Anderson to include an estimated $24.9 million in the proposed budget to end homelessness. The figure, LeBlanc said at the time, is based on what councillors were told in preliminary estimates.

According to Wednesday's city council meeting agenda, Mayor Sandra Masters — who was disgusted by the lawsuit — and eight city councillors plan to submit a notice of motion.

The motion states that the lawsuit was filed the same day the city manager released administration's proposed budget, even though council was not scheduled to debate it until mid-December.

It also alleges that the lawsuit could be seen as calling council's operational integrity and oversight into question.

Those who signed onto the notice seek to "affirm and convey" their confidence in Anderson, and express disappointment toward the negative impact the lawsuit has had on council's operational integrity and oversight.

The court action dates back to a motion in June, moved by Coun. Stevens, that directed city administration to include "full operational funding to solve homelessness throughout the city," which should be a demarcated line item in the proposed 2023 budget, according to meeting minutes published on the City of Regina website.

The motion, which council passed unanimously, also directed city administration to draft a report that explains the costs of the initiative, the cost of inaction and provide an estimate of the number of people experiencing homelessness in Regina.

All of the details were laid out in the preliminary budget, which was released to the public on Nov. 22. But administration did not recommend proceeding on the motion, citing the high cost of the project.

After filing the lawsuit, LeBlanc said the motion makes it clear that the funding should have been included in the preliminary budget for council to consider.

He and Stevens felt legal action was their only recourse, he said.

If the notice of motion is passed unanimously, it will be debated Wednesday. Otherwise, the issue will be debated at a later date.