Criminal probe into HQ project
RCMP begin investigation after review of documents
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/12/2014 (3388 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The RCMP have launched a criminal investigation into the construction of Winnipeg’s $210-million police-headquarters project following a four-month review of documents provided by Manitoba Justice.
On Wednesday morning, the Mounties raided the McGillivray Boulevard office of Caspian Construction, the firm hired by the City of Winnipeg in 2011 to oversee the renovation of the former Canada Post building on Graham Avenue into the new home for the Winnipeg Police Service.
Officers in plain clothes and uniforms began executing a search warrant at the Caspian office at about 8 a.m. and emerged with computers shortly after 1:30 p.m.
Shortly before 3 p.m., Manitoba’s RCMP announced they were conducting a “full investigation” of the police-headquarters project, the subject of two scathing external audits commissioned by the City of Winnipeg.
The RCMP investigation grew out of an Aug. 15 Manitoba Justice decision to forward a total of three city audits — of Winnipeg’s police headquarters, major real estate transactions and the fire-paramedic station replacement program — to the RCMP.
Manitoba Justice also sent the Mounties “additional material received” that included a letter alleging doctored police-headquarters invoices, a payment to a member of city council and an instruction to inflate another invoice.
As a result of the provincial request, RCMP Manitoba investigators from the federal, serious and organized crime unit conducted two separate reviews, RCMP spokeswoman Tara Seel said in a statement.
“One team of investigators has been working on the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters file, while another team has been working on the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic stations file,” she wrote.
“The RCMP have completed a review of the forensic audit regarding the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters, and this is now considered a full investigation. The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic stations file is still under review.”
The RCMP would not comment further on what it described as an ongoing investigation.
‘Winnipeggers need to get to the bottom of this. We all need to get to the bottom of this. We need the RCMP to do their work’
— Mayor Brian Bowman
Calls to Caspian president Armik Babakhanians were not returned. Calls to Aikins Law, which has represented Babakhanians in the past, also were not returned.
The Winnipeg police headquarters project had its roots in a 2007 city decision not to proceed with re-cladding of the crumbling Tyndall-stone facade on the Public Safety Building.
City council approved the purchase and renovation of the Canada Post warehouse and tower in 2009 as a $136-million project. Construction and scope inflation led the total project cost to increase to $210 million by 2013, according to city reports and a 2013 audit by consulting firm KPMG.
The KPMG audit also confirmed Caspian was awarded what was initially a $137.1-million “guaranteed maximum price” contract based on a design that was only 30 per cent complete and subject to change. The audit also noted Caspian technically did not bid for the contract, which grew out of a $50,000 construction-management contract awarded to a joint venture between Caspian and Akman Construction.
The Winnipeg real estate audit, meanwhile, noted the city didn’t seriously consider other locations for the police HQ and did not conduct an independent appraisal of the Canada Post building before buying it.
Winnipeg police Chief Devon Clunis declined to comment on the RCMP investigation.
Clunis has refused to comment on the extraordinary situation in which federal police are investigating a municipal police project.
Mayor Brian Bowman said he welcomed the RCMP investigation, explaining it’s a necessary step toward restoring the public’s faith in city hall.
“Winnipeggers need to get to the bottom of this. We all need to get to the bottom of this,” Bowman told reporters outside his office. “We need the RCMP to do their work.”
Bowman said he knows little about the investigation and promised the city will respond to any revelations the Mounties uncover. He would not say whether he’s considered removing Caspian Construction from what’s left of the police HQ project, the completion of which has been delayed by storm damage to electrical systems.
“I’m not going to rule anything out, but we’ve already engaged (the city’s) legal counsel to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure Winnipeggers have faith in their city hall,” Bowman said. “We want to make decisions based on facts and as we get those facts, we’ll take the appropriate steps immediately.”
The city’s legal team informed the previous council there was nothing wrong with either the police-HQ project now under RCMP investigation or the fire-paramedic station replacement program under review by the Mounties.
“At this stage we’ve been leveraging and using the resources of our own legal counsel and we’ll use outside legal counsel as and when appropriate,” said Bowman, vowing anyone implicated in the RCMP investigation will be dealt with. “If the RCMP do their work, and we find reasons for criminal wrongdoing… we will also take immediate steps.”
Bowman promised further announcements regarding measures being taken as a result of the three city audits.
“One of the things we’ve already started looking at and taking steps on is what can we do to ensure there is greater integrity in the processes at city hall and greater faith in city hall based on the recommendations from the audits,” he said.
bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
History
Updated on Thursday, December 18, 2014 6:32 AM CST: Changes photo, adds video
Updated on Thursday, December 18, 2014 9:05 AM CST: Corrects, in timeline, when executive policy committee is told of further cost overruns