City of Winnipeg's top lawyer resigns
Resignation leaves hole in department as city faces several court cases
City solicitor Krista Boryskavich has resigned, leaving a hole at top of Winnipeg's legal department.
A memo to councillors and staff today says, "Over the next month, Krista will focus on closing off and transferring files to our City's legal team and the Deputy City Solicitor."
Boryskavich will leave on Aug. 2.
The departure means the city is searching for both a new chief administrative officer and head of its legal department.
The memo says the city's deputy solicitor, Harold Dick, will act as city solicitor until a replacement is found.
The resignation leaves the city's legal team without a leader at a time when there are several complicated cases in the court system or requiring negotiation.
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Boryskavich is also leaving the city just a day before city council will vote for a $600,000 increase to the legal department's budget to hire outside counsel for ongoing litigation.
Charleswood-Tuxedo-Westwood Coun. Kevin Klein wanted to know why the city isn't providing an explanation for the solicitor's resignation.
"We seem to have a lot of issues going on at the city legally, so why? Why is this happening?" asked Klein, referring to legal challenges around impact fees and the Parker Lands dispute, among others.
Meanwhile, a national search is ongoing to replace Winnipeg chief administrative officer Doug McNeil after he retired last spring as the city's top bureaucrat.
Between 2014 and 2018, more than half of the lawyers working for the city left for one reason or another.