Canada Post requests access to documents seized for RCMP fraud investigation at Winnipeg plant
Caspian Construction completed mail processing plant build in 2010
Canada Post is asking for access to documents seized by the RCMP in a fraud investigation into the company it paid to build a mail processing plant in Winnipeg.
The Crown corporation filed a notice of application with the Court of Queen's Bench in Winnipeg on Thursday to get documents seized from Caspian Construction relating to the project, which was completed in 2010.
A Canada Post spokesperson said the corporation wants to use the documents "to analyze and quantify any money that may be owing to the Corporation in relation to the construction of the Winnipeg Mail Processing Plant."
"Canada Post was first contacted by the RCMP on Feb. 2, 2016, regarding their investigation and continues to co-operate fully," the spokesperson wrote in an email. "As this remains an ongoing police investigation, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
According to court documents, the mail processing plant investigation stems from discoveries made on Dec. 17, 2014, when RCMP searched Caspian's office as part of a separate investigation into the company's construction of Winnipeg's police headquarters.
Canada Post hired Caspian Projects Inc. and AECON in a joint venture to build the Winnipeg mail-processing plant near Richardson International Airport in 2008.
The building was completed in 2010, but Canada Post continued to pay Caspian for a further six years, CBC News learned in June.
Bank records, binders on list for access
In its application, Canada Post requests access to bank records dating from July 1, 2008 to Jan. 1, 2016, including the opening and closing of accounts, information relating to day-to-day transactions and details from an account held in the name of Caspian Projects Inc. and AECON Joint Venture.
The document also requests two Caspian binders and several folders and their contents seized by RCMP, as well as all relevant data and documents taken as part Project Dalton — the investigation into the construction of Winnipeg's police headquarters.
In an emailed statement, an RCMP spokesperson said they are aware of the request.
"Our investigation continues. The Notice of Application will be dealt with through the court process," said spokesperson Tara Seel.
With files from Caroline Barghout