Crown downplays value of inquiry in Winnipeg police HQ scandal, doubles down on decision not to lay charges
Politicians pressured to make police HQ lawsuit 'go away,' says Mayor Bowman
The day after a Manitoba court found former City of Winnipeg top bureaucrat Phil Sheegl took a bribe while in office, Manitoba's Prosecution Service office sent out a briefing note explaining why charges were not laid in 2019 and downplaying the need for an inquiry, according to documents obtained by CBC News under freedom of information legislation.
The Crown's office said the city is already suing dozens of companies and people involved with the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service Headquarters, and advised that the city was best suited to handle this case in civil court.
As for a public inquiry into the construction of the building, the prosecution service office said it wouldn't reveal anything over and above what the court will hear.
"An inquiry would not provide any more information than is available through the civil [court] process," the Manitoba Prosecution Service wrote in the March 16 briefing note for provincial cabinet members.
"The standard in civil law is far lower than criminal and that was the appropriate avenue for legal recourse in these circumstances."
The Justice Department did not answer followup questions from CBC about how it would know what information would come out in an inquiry or the upcoming civil trial against dozens of other defendants named in the Winnipeg police HQ construction lawsuit, which is scheduled for three months in spring 2024.
In a March decision from what was then called Court of Queen's Bench, Chief Justice Glenn Joyal ruled Sheegl, who was the City of Winnipeg's chief administrative officer from May 2011 to October 2013, received a bribe and breached his duty as a senior city official.
In 2011, Sheegl's company accepted a payment from Armik Babakhanians, the owner of general police headquarters contractor Caspian Construction, the court decision said.
In early 2020, the city filed a civil lawsuit against Sheegl, Caspian and a slew of subcontractors and consultants involved in the police HQ project.
Sheegl is the only defendant whose case has been decided. He is appealing the judgment.
Lack of inquiry 'disappointing,' says outgoing mayor
Mayor Brian Bowman, who was first elected in 2014, and city council have been calling for a public inquiry into the previous City of Winnipeg administration since 2017.
"It's disappointing," Bowman, who is not seeking a third term as mayor in this month's civic election, said in an interview.
"We have certainly felt for many years that the province doesn't have Winnipeg taxpayers' backs on this file."
University of Manitoba political science professor emeritus Paul Thomas disagrees with the Manitoba Prosecution Service's assertion that a public inquiry would not yield additional information.
He says the case against Sheegl, which led to a $1-million judgment, "does not come up to the level of full accountability for what went on in the events involving the planning, development and execution of the police headquarters project."
Thomas said an inquiry would look at how many people knew what was happening, how many were directly involved, and what actions were taken — or not taken.
"A lot of people would like to see the former mayor, Sam Katz, answer for his part in all of this," said Thomas.
'They wish it would go away'
Bowman says the provincial government has nothing to fear from calling an inquiry, since it's in the public interest.
But he admits there has been opposition to getting to the bottom of the scandals that plagued city hall during the previous administration.
"I can say that there's certainly pressure that is being placed on politicians to simply make this go away," said Bowman, who refused to reveal who is applying pressure.
Thomas says people in the property development community don't want this "black cloud hanging over their heads."
"They wish it would go away because of the fast and loose deals made in the past on city properties," said Thomas.
Thomas says developers would like to think that city hall is run competently and with integrity, but procurement and real estate deals now have a tarnished image.
As for the provincial government's inaction on calling an inquiry, Thomas thinks they just don't want to get involved in this issue.
"They also know that once they launch this inquiry, it could easily get out of hand, it could drag on and it could run up costs."
It could also raise questions the province prefers not to explore, such as the extent of its knowledge of what was going on over at city hall.
But Thomas says a full airing of the truth in the form of an inquiry would go a long way to alleviate citizen cynicism of political processes.
City's responsibility: Prosecution Service
The Manitoba Prosecution Service said it is the city's responsibility to deal with any issues involving Sheegl's employment contract "through a civil court remedy combined with the policies and processes they put in place or will put in place to prevent a recurrence," according to the March briefing note.
The prosecution office said the city has full disclosure of all the circumstances that led to this issue through the civil discovery process, and is best positioned to address it.
Premier Heather Stefanson referred questions about the briefing material to a press secretary for the Minister of Justice, who reiterated the speaking points outlined in the briefing note.
In 2014, the RCMP began an investigation into the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters building. The March briefing note says the investigation was completed in two-and-a-half years, and it then went to the Crown for consultation on charges.
That process took another two-and-a-half years. In December 2019, Manitoba Justice announced no criminal charges would be laid.
At the time, it said "there is not sufficient evidence to approve any criminal charges as there is not a reasonable likelihood of conviction."
Bowman isn't certain efforts to pursue the city's police HQ lawsuit will continue under the next mayor and council, who will be elected on Oct. 26.
"I don't think anybody should presume that the next mayor and council will see this through," he said.
CBC News conducted a straw poll of the 11 mayoral candidates running to replace Bowman. Ten said they would continue to pursue the lawsuit and continue to press the province to call an inquiry into real estate, procurement and construction processes during the Katz administration. Mayoral candidate Jenny Motkaluk said she supports continuing the lawsuit, but would not push for an inquiry.
"When we see the kind of mess that we inherited and the kind of mess with respect to this particular file, it's a no-brainer," said Bowman.
"All of the mayoral candidates should be committing to seeing … the legal actions through to their logical conclusion."
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With files from Kristin Annable