Regina councillors agree personal disputes distract from important work. They still keep happening.
Council guided by code of conduct passed in 2017, but all rule violations have come during this council
Disagreement at Regina city hall is common, healthy and encouraged, but a series of disputes between councillors have continued to dominate their schedule.
It is apparent that some of council's members do not like each other — and that is not going to change.
"I will work with anybody. I'm willing to bury the hatchet so long as it's not in my back," said Ward 3 Coun. Andrew Stevens.
Councillors and Mayor Sandra Masters have insisted that the disagreements are not going to distract them from dealing with civic issues, especially as they have little more than a year before the next municipal election.
In Regina, council is governed by a code of conduct. On Wednesday, council spent hours dealing with a breach of those rules by Stevens.
An integrity commissioner report ruled that the Ward 3 councillor breached the code after sharing a confidential report in July 2022.
While the report did not provide details on the nature of Stevens' complaint, he told council that he had taken issue with the actions of Ward 7 Coun. Terina Nelson.
Since the integrity commissioner's report dismissed the complaints, it was meant to remain confidential.
But when Stevens hit "reply all" to an agenda email and attached the report, he distributed it to members of city administration and fellow councillors.
Stevens has said his actions were a lapse in judgment.
He said he attempted to apologize to Nelson. She has denied that he apologized.
"I believe we need our residents to know that when something is said to us, when confidentiality is given to us, we respect that and we respect the oath that we took when we entered into the office," Nelson said on Wednesday.
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In a 7-to-1 vote, councillors ultimately decided to not censure Stevens or make him offer a written apology.
Stevens told council that he wasn't willing to provide an apology after recent but unspecified comments made by Nelson online.
"It tells me that the commissioner process is being weaponized by the councillor and, for that, I'm not in the position to offer a meaningful apology," said Stevens.
"Instead, I will offer an apology to council over how much time and energy this vexatious complaint has caused and, for that, I am really sorry."
Nelson declined to speak with media after Wednesday's council meeting.
Disputes becoming the norm
Masters was the sole vote rejecting the decision to not punish Stevens.
She later explained that her vote was because she wished to remain consistent.
Masters voted to punish the only other councillor found to have violated council's code of conduct since it was introduced in 2017: Nelson.
In September 2022, the city's integrity commissioner ruled Nelson was disrespectful to fellow councillors and residents. Council declined to punish Nelson after she revealed she suffered from a severe brain injury and attention deficit disorder.
With the only two violations of the code of conduct coming during this council's tenure, it has left other members frustrated and wanting to return to civic business.
"It's done. I want to move on. I don't want to deal with this anymore. We've got many, many other issues to deal with that are more important," said Ward 5 Coun. John Findura.
Masters maintained that council can remain focused on what is important instead of interpersonal dispute.
"Council has no problem doing business. You saw it tonight. We've seen it since the beginning of the year. We have passed an enormous amount of legislation and bylaws, investments, applications for funding. And so the business of council is continuing on just fine," she said.
A third conduct complaint from this council still needs to be resolved.
Stevens and Ward 1 Coun. Dan LeBlanc were found to have violated the code of conduct for their actions in filing a lawsuit against Regina city manager Niki Anderson in an attempt to force her to include funding to end homelessness in the municipal budget.
That lawsuit failed but allegations of harassment related to the lawsuit were floated by Masters and Anderson.
While complaints of harassment were dismissed, LeBlanc and Stevens were found to have not acted in the best interests of the municipality.
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On Wednesday, Stevens theorized the complaint by Nelson was linked to the lawsuit. Despite their disagreement, Stevens said he is ready to get back to work.
"But if I have to constantly look behind me in terms of what kind of things are going to be said about me by a colleague in public on social media, that's a concern and I think we need some proper help."
The report has already received hours of debate but council has yet to formally accept the findings made against Stevens and LeBlanc. It must still decide whether censure or punishment are necessary.
That integrity commissioner report is scheduled to be dealt with by council before July 12.
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