Rift on Regina city council deepens as mayor, majority of councillors condemn lawsuit against city manager

A rift onRegina city councilcontinued to grow Wednesday amidst a looming lawsuit over addressinghomelessness in the city.

Mayor Sandra Masters was joined by eight of the city's 10councillors in backing a motion that condemned their two colleagues, and the lawsuit they have filed against city manager Niki Anderson.

The motion also sought to"affirm and convey" confidence in Anderson.

"I think as an employer, it's enormously important that our employee knows she has our confidence and that we want her to do the things that she was hired to do," Masters saidafter the council meeting.

The lawsuitstems from a council vote earlier this year.

In June, council unanimously voted to direct city administration to figureout how much it would cost to end homelessness in the city and have that "clearly demarcated in a line item of its own" in the city's proposed 2023 budget, according to meetingminutes published on the city's website.

In the preliminary budget, city administration provided theestimated figure of $122.5 million needed to implementa housing-first model to address homelessness,but did not includea recommendation to move forward, citingthe high cost of the project to the city's residents.

Thatprompted Ward 3Coun. Andrew Stevens and Florence Stratton, a Regina resident, to file a lawsuit against the office of the city manager on Nov. 22.

They are being represented by Ward 6Coun. Dan LeBlanc, who says the goal wasnot to target Anderson,who became the first woman to serve ascity manager in Regina's historyafter starting the thejob in November.

Instead, LeBlanc said thelawsuit is trying to force city administration tofollow council's directions.The lawsuitseeks a judicial order that would force administration to include an estimated $24.9 million in the proposed budgetto end homelessness.

The figureis based on what councillors were told in preliminary estimates,LeBlanc said.

LISTEN |Regina's mayor reacts to court action by her colleagues:

Anderson, who the city confirmed has retained outside legal counsel for this lawsuit, has yet to issue a statement on the matter.

The lawsuit is scheduled to be heard by a Court of King's Bench judge in Regina on Tuesday, just a day before council will begin finalizing the budget.

'Disappointed' by lawsuit: councillor

The motion debated atcouncil on Wednesdayinitially faced an uphill battle to be heard at themeeting.

Unless it receivedunanimous approval, it would have had to be debated at a later date.

However, thedecision by Stevens and LeBlancto recuse themselves due to the obvious conflict of interest on the subjectcleared the way for the motion to be discussed.

Councillorstook the opportunity to tearinto the lawsuit.

"This is a step backwards. I'm embarrassed to be a council member at this time," said Ward 7Coun. Terina Nelson.

Ward 2 Coun. Bob Hawkinssaid the correct way to address the dispute was to bring it back in front of council and allow them to decide, rather than filinga lawsuit.

"I'm disappointed, as a lawyer, that the courts had been drawn into what is essentially a political matter," Hawkins said.

The motion passed on Wednesday said the court action could be seen as calling into question the operational integrity and oversight of city council.

Masters said the lawsuit and its fallout will not effect how council operates, as proven by its productive meetings in the weeks since the suit was filed.

"As to the relationships, Ican't speak tofolks' relationships," Masters said.