Winnipeg mayor repeats call for provincial inquiry into police HQ after judge rules former CAO accepted bribe

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman repeated his call for a provincial inquiry into the procurement and construction of the city's police headquarters after a judge ruled the former chief administrative officer accepted a bribe from the contractor on that project.

On Tuesday Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Justice Glenn Joyal ruled former Winnipeg CAO Phil Sheegl accepted a bribe and breached his duty as a senior city officer when he accepted $327,200 in 2011 from Armik Babakhanians of Caspian Construction, the main contractor on the $214-million project.

Joyal also ruled Sheegl must return the $327,200 to an as-yet-undetermined recipient and must also return $250,000 in severance pay to the city, pay $100,000 in punitive damages and pay legal costs that also have not been determined yet.

Bowman called ruling "a historic decision for Winnipeg taxpayers" and said only a provincial inquiry can shed more light on events that transpired at city hall prior to his election in 2014.

"This is one of the biggest scandals in Winnipeg's history," Bowman told reporters Wednesday during a noon-hour break in an executive policy committee meeting at city hall.

He said former premier Brian Pallister erred when he declined to call a provincial inquiry, which the mayor said could cast a light on a broader array of issues than a court case can examine.

The mayor said court cases have narrow parameters, while public inquiries can compel individuals to place testimony on the public record.

Bowman, who campaigned for mayor in 2014 on a promise to rid city hall of construction scandals, said there is a cost inherent in failing to call an inquiry.

He said he's hopeful Premier Heather Stefanson will do what Pallister did not.

Stefanson said it's too soon to make a decision on the inquiry because court proceedings are not complete.

"This remains before the courts," Stefanson said at the Manitoba Legislature.

"Obviously before we make any decisions on whether or not to call any public inquiry we need to make sure all avenues are exhausted before that."

The city case against Sheegl and two other defendants is separate from a city lawsuit against Babakhanians and nearly two dozen other defendants. That case remains in its early stages.

CBC News has asked Sheegl and Babakhanians for comment.

The police headquarters project commenced in 2009, when city council voted to purchase the former Canada Post warehouse and office tower complex in downtown Winnipeg and convert it into a new home for the Winnipeg Police Service.

The purchase and renovation project's original pricetag was $105 million. It was completed in 2016 for $214 million.

By then, the project was already examined by two city audits and was the subject of an RCMP fraud and forgery investigation that concluded in 2019 without any charges being laid.

Bowman said he is not privy to the same information available to the RCMP and provincial prosecution services, and thus will not question the decision not to lay charges.

Justice Joyal's conclusion, he said, bolsters the case for an inquiry.

Brian Bowman calls police HQ one of the biggest scandals in city history

3 years ago

Duration 3:01

Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman repeated his call for a provincial inquiry into the procurement and construction of the city's police headquarters after a judge ruled the former chief administrative officer accepted a bribe from the contractor on that project.