Mayor, councillors locked in war of words, lawsuit over inclusion of homelessness motion in Regina budget

Regina city council descended into a series of heated press conferences on Wednesday as a dispute over what should have been included in the city's recommended budget is set to head to court next week. 

Coun. Dan LeBlanc, who is a lawyer, has filed a lawsuit on behalf of Coun. Andrew Stevens and Florence Stratton, a well-known social activist in Regina. 

They allege that the city's unelected administration has purposely subverted the will of the democratically elected council it is supposed to follow. 

At the heart of the matter is a motion to end homelessness in Regina.

The argument is over whether city administration was obligated to include the motion and its financial implications in the preliminary budget it is recommending to the council, or if it had the freedom to leave it out. 

The lawsuit filed with the Court of King's Bench seeks a judicial order directing Niki Anderson, who recently became Regina's city manager, to include an estimated $24.9 million in the proposed budget to end homelessness.

"The unelected city manager has effectively insulated elected leaders from having to publicly state their position on homelessness," LeBlanc said during a press conference on Wednesday. 

LeBlanc says the lawsuit's $24.9 million figure is based on what councillors were told in preliminary estimates.

The lawsuit was not welcomed by Mayor Sandra Masters. 

During a scrum after council's Wednesday meeting, she said she had yet to receive legal advice on the matter.

Her view as mayor is that it's now a matter for the courts, she said, but added "if you're asking me personally, I think it's disgusting," saying she's not impressed Anderson is targeted in the lawsuit.

"I think that for a first female city manager, there's tones of sexism in it."

The dispute goes back to a June 15 motion that directed city administration to include "full operational funding to solve homelessness throughout the city," which should be "clearly demarcated in a line item of its own" in the city's proposed 2023 budget, according to meeting minutes published on the city's website. 

The motion, which passed unanimously, also directed city administration to produce a report explaining the costing, along with detailing the estimated number of homeless people in Regina and the cost of inaction on the subject.