'I'm the parent of that child': Regina city councillor says colleague was out of line for suggesting he remove his child from meeting

A Regina city councillor said he was shocked after another member suggested he remove his two-year-old daughter from an especially tense council meeting.

A Regina city councillor said he was shocked after another member suggested he remove his two-year-old daughter from an especially tense council meeting.

Ward 2 Coun. Dan Leblanc attended council’s Sept. 13 meeting while caring for his two-year-old daughter – bringing the child to his seat on council.

“My daughter’s daycare closes at 5:30 p.m. We have two children, a baby and a toddler and simply bedtimes don’t line up,” LeBlanc explained. “So it’s not feasible for my wife to put the baby to sleep while the toddler is at home.”

Partway through the evening’s debate – Coun. Bob Hawkins addressed council – requesting that Leblanc remove the child from what he called a “council circus.”

“In general terms, it’s not appropriate for a young child, a toddler to be on the debating floor of council,” Hawkins told CTV News on Tuesday.

“I think it’s not fair to the toddler. That was a fairly vigorous meeting. There was shouts out from the crowd, some words that I wouldn’t use on television being spoken.”

The council meeting was marred by frequent interruptions — as members of the gallery expressed frustrations with the debate on the motion to declare a “houselessness crisis” in Regina.