Several witnesses received misconduct notices in Winnipeg HQ construction inquiry: interim report
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Several people have received formal notices of alleged misconduct in the inquiry into the procurement and construction of Winnipeg’s police headquarters, according to a report from the inquiry’s commissioner.
Three people who received these confidential notices of alleged misconduct cannot be subpoenaed under the Manitoba Evidence Act because they live outside the province, Commissioner Garth Smorang wrote in an interim report dated Dec. 5.
“Thus far none of these individuals has indicated that they will voluntarily attend to testify,” Smorang wrote.
The names of those individuals were not included in the report. Smorang said “several individuals” received these misconduct notices, but the total number of people who got one was not disclosed.
The first phase of hearings, which will delve into the awarding of the development contract to Caspian Construction and the construction process, is scheduled to begin on Feb. 10.
Inquiry co-ordinator Stacy Nagle told CBC News that witness names will be published a week before the hearing date is set to begin.
During the course of the project, the city bought a former Canada Post office and warehouse complex and converted it into the Winnipeg Police Service’s new headquarters. When it was completed in 2016, it had run $79 million over the council-approved budget.
Thirty-four witnesses — 11 of whom are subject matter experts on topics including construction project costing and public service ethics — are expected to testify at the public hearings between February and June, Smorang said.
Phil Sheegl, Winnipeg’s former chief administrative officer, has paid the city $1.15 million in damages, fees and interest stemming from a 2022 Court of King’s Bench decision that found he accepted a bribe from the contractor responsible for the police headquarters construction project. (CBC)
Among those granted standing to testify are Sam Katz, who served as Winnipeg’s mayor between 2004 and 2014, and Phil Sheegl, the city’s former chief administrative officer, who was found to have accepted a bribe from the contractor responsible for the police headquarters in a 2022 Court of King’s Bench decision.
Sheegl appealed that decision but lost the following year.
A 2023 Manitoba Court of Appeal decision said Sheegl engaged in 14 breaches of duty between 2010 and 2012, when the city was selecting a contractor for the police headquarters conversion project.
Those breaches included giving confidential information to Caspian Construction owner Armik Babakhanians and manipulating the tendering process to favour the company.
Last week, the city’s current CAO Joseph Dunford told council that Sheegl had paid the city $1.15 million in damages, fees and interest stemming from that legal decision.
Caspian Construction Inc. and its owner Armik Babakhanians are also among the parties granted standing in all phases of the inquiry hearings, Smorang’s report says.
Legal representatives for the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Police Service have also been granted standing for several phases of the inquiry.
The inquest will aim to determine how to restore public confidence in the city’s ability to carry out a large-scale construction project in an efficient, ethical, timely and cost-effective manner, the inquest’s website said.
The 48 scheduled hearings will be held at the Public Utilities Board building on Portage Avenue in Winnipeg starting next month, the report said.
The public and media will be allowed to attend, Smorang wrote.
“All proceedings are planned to be held in public,” he said.
“The hearing room is large and there is adequate space for members of the public to attend and observe the proceedings.”
The inquiry’s final submissions are expected to be heard the week of June 15.
