Regina city councillors accused of harassment against city manager want provincial investigation

A tense relationship between two Regina city councillors and the city manager has become stretched even thinner after the mayor accused the councillors of harassment, and it's not clear what mechanisms the city has to resolve the dispute.

Regina Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens and Ward 6 Coun. Dan LeBlanc are now calling for a third-party investigation. 

The two men say city manager Niki Anderson has tarnished their reputations and that the city is not complying with its own policies around investigating harassment.

"I would actually call on the provincial government and Occupational Health and Safety to actually inquire and dig into this," said Stevens in an interview this week.  

"I think it would clear my name."

Dispute at city hall 

The dispute began late last year during early municipal budget discussions. Niki Anderson had recently assumed her role as city manager. 

LeBlanc, who is also a lawyer, represented Stevens and another community member as they brought a lawsuit against Anderson in an attempt to compel her office to include a line item describing the cost of ending homelessness in the 2023 city budget. 

While that lawsuit would ultimately fail, the fallout from it has yet to subside.

On Feb. 8, council voted to remove LeBlanc from his position on the board of Community and Social Impact Regina. LeBlanc has said the removal felt like political retribution.

During the related debate, Masters described LeBlanc filing the lawsuit and posting exchanges he had with Anderson on social media as "harassment," and a violation of council's code of ethics. 

A day later, Anderson held a news conference expressing similar sentiments — although not using the term harassment — and saying that there was no way to repair her relationship with the two councillors. 

"I'm confirming publicly today that since the lawsuit, I have not and will not meet alone with either Coun. Stevens or Coun. LeBlanc," she said. 

'Very serious allegation'

LeBlanc and Stevens have rejected any allegation of harassment or bullying, and said the Feb. 8 council meeting was the first time they've heard of any concerns of that nature.

"I mean that's a very serious allegation," said LeBlanc this week. "Harassment is a legal word with a legal meaning and legal implications, and there are processes to follow to get to the bottom of seeing whether that's substantiated."

According to Mayor Masters, the nature of the complaint has muddied the waters about the route forward.

"There's no road map put forward for elected officials in terms of a city council for how to deal with a specific instance like this," she told media on Wednesday. "That is what we're trying to work through."

This week LeBlanc and Stevens voiced concerns that the city's policies are not being followed.

Provincial legislation requires employers in Saskatchewan to develop their own harassment policies.

The most recent version of the city's policy says various directors, employees and even the workplace health and safety department are required to ensure "the confidentiality of the complaint, and the parties involved."

When a complaint against someone sparks an investigation, that person must be informed, the policy says. That has not yet happened, according to LeBlanc and Stevens.

In a statement after the initial publication of this story, the City of Regina said the harassment policy and its respectful workplace policy apply to all employees, including the city manager. 

"In this particular circumstance, it would be unlikely that the [harassment policy would be the governing policy], as this policy does not apply to city council members," the statement reads. 

Instead, the city points to its municipal ethics bylaw that governs councillors. Complaints can be made to the the city's integrity commissioner. It's not clear if anyone has made such a complaint in this case, as they are confidential.

"My worry is that [Niki Anderson's] press conference was meant to solicit and summon an integrity commissioner complaint, perhaps in the general public, and that worries me because it was basically setting us up using language that for the most part was unsubstantiated by evidence," Stevens said.

The mayor has not remained quiet in the debate. She said an HR subcommittee of council has as will continue to meet with Anderson over her concerns.

"We recognize that Miss Anderson has been put in a difficult situation," Masters said. 

A provincial solution

It is possible that the province could step in to the assist with the situation, as the councillors have asked for. 

The Ministry of Labour says workers can contact its Discriminatory Action Prevention Unit if they have concerns over harassment. 

That unit is staffed by occupational health officers that, according to the province's website, can conduct inquires and interview any person who they believe can provide information about an "allegation of harassment."