Bowman will ask province for public inquiry into police HQ 'secret commission' allegations
Mayor says Winnipeggers deserve answers to restore faith in city hall
Mayor Brian Bowman plans to officially ask the province to call a public inquiry after CBC revealed new allegations that former city CAO Phil Sheegl got paid $200,000 for help landing the police headquarters project for Caspian Construction — money he then shared with the mayor at the time, Sam Katz.
"I take these allegations very, very seriously," said Bowman at a press conference called in response to a CBC News story detailing allegations by RCMP investigators looking into the construction of Winnipeg's police headquarters.
The mayor says he'll put forward a motion at an upcoming executive policy committee meeting, calling on the province to look into the matter.
In an information to obtain a search warrant (ITO) obtained by CBC News, Manitoba RCMP alleged that the owner of Caspian paid a secret commission to Sheegl for showing favour to him when awarding the contract to transform a Canada Post complex into police headquarters.
In the ITO, RCMP also alleged breach of trust.
Bowman said that city council and the mayor owe it to Winnipeggers to try to get answers about the allegations.
"The new RCMP allegations that we're just learning today are the most seriously damaging to public trust at city hall to date. All members of your council have an obligation to do everything in our power to restore the public trust," Bowman said.
"The ultimate objective [of a public inquiry] is to restore trust and faith in city hall."
Winnipeg's current CAO, Doug McNeil, said city staff been complying with all police requests for documents.
"We have been completely co-operative with the RCMP," said McNeil.
The ITO was provided to a judge in order to obtain bank records and represents a snapshot of Project Dalton, the RCMP investigation into the construction of the police headquarters. Police must present evidence supporting requests such as bank records to secure access to the records.
A lawyer representing Sheegl and Katz denied RCMP's breach of trust allegations, but acknowledged that the owner of Caspian, Armik Babakhanians, paid Sheegl, $200,000 and Sheegl then paid Katz $100,000.
Robert Tapper said Caspian's payment to Sheegl was part of a real-estate deal his clients had made with the Caspian owner in 2011.
'How deep does it go?'
At least six city councillors — Janice Lukes (St. Norbert), John Orlikow (River Heights-Fort Garry), Brian Mayes (St. Vital), Shawn Dobson (St. Charles), Jenny Gerbasi (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) and Scott Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands-Weston) — declared their support for the province to call a public inquiry.
"If these allegations prove to be true, it's shocking," said Lukes. "And the question that comes to mind for me is how deep does it go? Who else is involved? Who's still here that's involved?"
Lukes pointed out that city projects inevitably involve a number of people, making her question whether anyone else may have been involved in the alleged dealings.
Manitoba's Justice Minister said an inquiry is not going to happen right now.
"While our government understands the concerns raised by the Mayor of Winnipeg, it would be premature for the Attorney General of Manitoba to comment on an issue that remains under active criminal investigation. This is vital to ensure the integrity of the process," said Heather Stefanson in a statement.
Not every city councillor believes a public inquiry should be left up to the province.
Mynarski councillor Ross Eadie said the city should have capacity to do the investigation on its own.
He said it was significant that Sheegl's lawyer, Robert Tapper, admitted that Sheegl, Katz and Caspian owner Babakhanians were in business together on an Arizona property deal. Eadie called that a violation of city employment standards.
Eadie called for Sheegl to return the $250,000 severance paid to him in 2014 when he left the city's employ.
The city's current CAO Doug McNeil said if the allegations prove to be true, the city will consider recouping the severance pay.
