Where’s the money from Phil Sheegl and others? councillor asks

Show him the money.

Coun. Jeff Browaty is wondering where to find millions of dollars owed to the city by key players in the protracted Winnipeg Police Service headquarters saga.

Disgraced former city chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl — who accepted a bribe in 2011 from the owner of the construction company contracted to transform a downtown warehouse into the police HQ — has been ordered to pay the city approximately $1.1 million.

And Caspian Construction, owner Armik Babakhanians and 10 other Caspian-related defendants named in a city lawsuit settled for a minimum of $21.5 million last year; the amount could rise to $28 million, depending on the length of time it takes to get the money.

Browaty, the city’s finance committee chairman, said Wednesday he was advancing his question a day early so Mayor Scott Gillingham would be able to provide the answer at today’s council meeting.

“I think the public has the right to ask these questions and know the status of those things,” Browaty said.

In response to questions from the Free Press, city spokesperson David Driedger offered an assurance that the matter is being looked after.

“The city continues to take steps to ensure that both the court-awarded damages, as well as the terms of settlement approved by council, are completed,” he said.

Canadian Taxpayers Federation Prairie director Gage Haubrich said that answer is not good enough.

“When it comes to any situation where taxpayer dollars are involved, the city should be more forthcoming to taxpayers,” Haubrich said.

“At the end of the day, the city should let people know. With government, more transparency would be better with the city than here, where it is at zero.”

Sheegl could not be reached for comment. An unidentified person who answered Caspian’s phone number refused to comment.

Sheegl, who was hired while Sam Katz was mayor, resigned in 2013. He was later named in the lawsuit launched by the city after the controversy-laden decision to relocate the WPS from the deteriorating Public Safety Building, which involved the purchase and conversion of the former Canada Post office building and sorting warehouse on Graham Avenue.

The project was approved in 2009 at a cost of $135 million for both purchase and construction, but had risen to $214 million, when police began moving into the building in December 2015 — nearly two years later than expected.

Police immediately discovered numerous deficiencies in the building and continued to find problems years later.

Last July, the Manitoba Court of Appeal rejected Sheegl’s appeal of a lower court order, agreeing he had accepted a $327,000 bribe from Babakhanians in exchange for sharing confidential information and favouring Caspian’s bid in awarding the construction contract.

Besides ordering Sheegl to pay back the bribe and interest to the city, the high court also ordered him to also return the $250,000 in severance he was paid plus interest, $100,000 in punitive damages and court costs at both the lower and appeal levels, totalling about $1.1 million.

“The conduct of Sheegl was so serious and so reprehensible that the bounds of rationality could have justified a much higher award of punitive damages than $100,000,” Justice Chris Mainella wrote.

“The integrity of public finances must be protected by the courts from large-scale bribery and the systemic ignorance of fiduciary duties, particularly those involving the most senior public officials.”

A lengthy RCMP investigation didn’t lead to any criminal charges.

The city’s repeated calls for a provincial inquiry into the matter fell on deaf ears during the Progressive Conservative governments of premiers Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson.

But Premier Wab Kinew set aside $500,000 in the NDP government’s first budget earlier this month to “lay the groundwork” for an inquiry.

“Manitobans should be able to trust that governments at all levels are using taxpayer funds in the public interest, and for too long there has been a dark cloud over (the police HQ) project,” the budget document said.

“This inquiry will get to the bottom of this matter and improve accountability related to public spending.”

The funding includes appointing an inquiry lead and setting up terms of reference and a timeline.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

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Kevin Rollason
Reporter

Kevin Rollason is one of the more versatile reporters at the Winnipeg Free Press. Whether it is covering city hall, the law courts, or general reporting, Rollason can be counted on to not only answer the 5 Ws — Who, What, When, Where and Why — but to do it in an interesting and accessible way for readers.

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