REGINA - A report to be presented Wednesday by Regina’s Integrity Commissioner states both Coun. Dan LeBlanc and Coun. Andrew Stevens violated two sections of the city’s Code of Ethics bylaw.
The two councillors had been implicated for the role in taking City Manager Niki Anderson to court last November for failing to include homeless funding in the 2023 budget. In that court fight Stevens had been a co-applicant along with Florence Stratton, while LeBlanc acted as lawyer. The integrity commissioner had received two written complaints from two separate complainants regarding what had transpired during that court fight.
According to the investigation report from Integrity Commissioner Angela Kruk to be presented Wednesday, LeBlanc and Stevens violated two sections of the Code: having failed to serve their constituents in a diligent manner and act in the best interests of the municipality, and having failed to build and inspire the public’s trust and confidence in local government.
On the first point, which referred to the mandamus application against Anderson that the two councillors pursued in court last November, Kruk stated that LeBlanc and Stevens “failed to adequately consider Council’s role”, “failed to pursue other adequate and effective remedies”, and “pursued unnecessary legal proceedings”. As a result “the Respondents failed to serve their constituents in a conscientious and diligent manner.”
On the second point Kruk stated that the lawsuit was not only “novel” but “unorthodox and unnecessary,” that the lawsuit “makes City governance look dysfunctional,” and that “the Respondents did not make any attempt to seek out Council’s approval prior to proceeding with the Lawsuit — a lawsuit that was found by the court to be unnecessary.”
Kruk also wrote about Coun. LeBlanc’s role in the case. She stated LeBlanc “acted for the applicants in the lawsuit, but so as not to minimize his involvement, I find that Coun. LeBlanc was really the driving mind behind all of the strategy and analysis that went into the lawsuit.”
Kruk also addressed the allegations that Stevens and LeBlanc had bullied or harassed Anderson in her new role as City Manager.
Kruk stated that there was no evidence submitted of any incidents between either of the respondents and the City Manager, where "either of them treated the City Manager in a way that was not with dignity, understanding and respect." She did, however, note the impact the lawsuit had on Anderson’s position.
"While I accept that the respondents did not target Ms. Anderson personally, the Lawsuit still had a considerable negative impact on her professionally and personally. I know this, not only because I heard this directly from Ms. Anderson, but also because the Lawsuit would have had a negative impact on any person in Ms. Anderson's position."
As for sanctions, Kruk’s recommendations are that Stevens and LeBlanc provide a written apology to Anderson for the negative impact that lawsuit had on her professionally and personally, and to reprimand Stevens and LeBlanc for their actions — noting that Motion MN 22-7 passed by council last Dec. 7 expressing disappointment over the negative impact on city council’s operational integrity and oversight that the lawsuit created would be deemed an appropriate penalty.
At this point these are only recommendations and council could decide to go with a different sanction or even no sanction, depending on what transpires when they consider the recommendations at their council meeting May 10.
Mayor Sandra Masters was asked about the pending report at an announcement Monday of a new transit service for Regina International Airport, but declined to make comments at that time.
“I will not get out in front of council on this, I’ll wait for the debate of council and provide comments on Wednesday and Thursday,” she said.
Stevens reaction
Councillor Stevens was at that same announcement, and he did make comments to reporters in which he accepted responsibility for what took place.
“One, if you rock the boat, you’re going to get wet, and you can’t expect to push and advance an issue that is of great importance to the community to this extent and not believe there’s going to be repercussions," he said.
“And I think that’s embedded in the Integrity Commissioner’s report. And that is fundamentally that counsellor LeBlanc and I cared more about homelessness and putting homelessness in the budget — whatever that amount, whatever option administration wanted to craft — more than we cared about decorum. And to that end, I’m sincerely sorry that there was any personal hardship that any of my council colleagues and the City Manager confronted or experienced. It was never our intention.”
Stevens also noted that the integrity commissioner made clear in her report that “there was no personal disrespect of Ms. Anderson. It was inconvenient timing in that this budget came out when she just took the job, and most importantly, there was no evidence, or reason to believe that councillor LeBlanc or I bullied, or harassed the city manager, in accordance of that section of the Code of Ethics. And that’s absolutely important to us.”
As for the recommendation of a written apology, Stevens said if directed to write an apology, he would write an apology or a letter than is sincere in his beliefs.
Stevens said he doesn’t “issue fake apologies. I only issue sincere apologies. I’m not going to give what I call an Experience Regina apology, which is ‘sorry, not so sorry.’ if there’s any personal hardship that anyone experienced, I’m sorry that happened.”
