'It’s disgusting': Proposed budget prompts fractures, legal action among Regina city council
Members of Regina city council are disagreeing about a vote regarding plans to end homelessness, which has led to legal action by two councillors.
A motion to end homelessness was brought forward earlier this year by councillors Dan LeBlanc and Andrew Stevens. LeBlanc said in June, council voted in favour of including full operational funding to end homelessness in the proposed budget for 2023.
Those two councillors, along with a local advocate, have now filed a court application against city manager Niki Anderson saying administration did not follow through on that vote as the funding was not directly part of the proposed budget.
Coun. LeBlanc, who is acting as the lawyer on the case, said the wording in the motion was straight forward.
“It says ‘administration shall include, in the proposed budget, full operational funding,’” LeBlanc said.
“’Shall include in the proposed budget,’ I say, is clear. It doesn’t say ‘we’ll think about whether to include,’ it says ‘you will put that money in and then we, the elected people, will debate it later.’”
Mayor Sandra Masters said that’s not what they were voting on.
“All of council was supportive of the numbers coming forward from administration to be debated at budget. That’s what the support was. It was never anything more than that,” Masters said on Wednesday.
“We were not approving anything other than we were looking for the numbers to be included in the budget book and they have been,” she said.
Masters said that’s how she, and the majority of councillors, interpreted the June vote.
Administration included a separate item in the budget book highlighting the cost to end homelessness.
“I think there were multiple avenues open. I think it’s in the budget,” she said.
“Administration’s job is to give advice and advise on their recommendations to council and they did so.”
The motion, which was unanimously carried in the June 15 city council meeting, is worded as follows in the city’s meeting minutes:
“Councillor Dan LeBlanc moved, seconded by Coun. Cheryl Stadnichuk that Administration be directed to include the following in the 2023 proposed budget:
1. Full operational funding to solve homelessness throughout the City using a housing first, supportive housing model. This draft funding to be clearly demarcated in a line item of its own.”
LEGAL ACTION
LeBlanc and Stevens are the only councillors involved in the legal action. LeBlanc said Stevens is included because his name was also on the original motion to end homelessness. LeBlanc said he did not ask any other councillors.
Ultimately, he said the city manager broke the law by not following the vote of elected officials.
“I was elected to do a certain job. I can only do that job through voting. If the votes we make aren’t respected, I actually think I have a democratic responsibility to make sure I can do that job,” he said.
“In this case, embarrassingly, shamefully, that means we need to go to court to get a judge to say, ‘Democracy wins. The elected people get the final say. Unelected city managers don’t.’”
The mayor said the legal action is unnecessary.
“If you’re asking me as the head of council, it would be clearly a court application and a matter of court. If you’re asking me personally, I think it’s disgusting,” Masters said.
“For the first female city manager, there’s tones of sexism in it.”
She also questioned the ethics behind two members of council who are party to a council motion representing it legally.
At Wednesday’s council meeting, LeBlanc said there was an obvious tension felt among council.
“It is a little awkward. It’s like the worst family dinner you’ve ever been to,” he told reporters.
“There’s not a lot of eye contact going on.”
City manager Niki Anderson, who took over the role in September, has not commented publicly on the matter.
On Thursday, the City of Regina said it would not be commenting further on the matter as it is before the courts.
The matter is expected to go to court on Tuesday.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Police arrest 3 Indian nationals in killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
Quebec man who threatened Trudeau, Legault online sentenced to 20 months in jail
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
Human remains found in rural Sask. possibly a decade old, RCMP say
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Canadian doctor concerned new weight-loss drug Wegovy may be used inappropriately
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey is never quitting 'The Price Is Right'
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.