For missing an opportunity to proceed with a lawsuit against 10 contractors attached to an allegedly insufficiently-constructed water treatment facility, the city of Winnipeg has fired its lawyer.

The city is also considering whether it should offer insurance for its own lawyers over securing professional liability insurance from a private provider, according to a CBC report.

Winnipeg chief administrative officer Doug McNeil revealed last week that the administration had fired one of its lawyers because the city had only filed a statement of claim after a six-year deadline. The water treatment plant was deemed substantially complete in early 2009, but the statement of claim was issued in late 2016 – at least six months too late, officials said.

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Council finance chair Scott Gillingham said earlier this week that he plans to ask the executive policy committee to authorize a plan to ask an external lawyer to investigate if the city can recover millions from a Law Society of Manitoba insurance fund.

Gillingham also threw around the idea of the city providing insurance for its own lawyers rather than purchasing professional liability insurance, which is supposed to protect taxpayers from legal mistakes, CBC reported.


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