Orlikow says he had no part in delay of development

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This article was published 13/07/2023 (819 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Coun. John Orlikow has broken his silence almost a week after a judge ruled that he directed city planners to deliberately delay the development of the former Parker Lands.

“My understanding was, and still is, there was no delay on my part… I had nothing to do with that,” said Orlikow on Thursday, adding he was “quite shocked” by the judge’s conclusion.

In a ruling last week, Manitoba Court of King’s Bench Justice Shauna McCarthy found former chief planner Braden Smith and senior city planner Michael Robinson liable for “misfeasance in public office.” The judge concluded they deliberately delayed progress on the Fulton Grove development at the former Parker lands. McCarthy ordered the city to pay $5 million in damages to developer Andrew Marquess.

The ruling also stated that Orlikow (River Heights – Fort Garry) interfered with the approval process.

“The evidence is also clear, in my view, that the impetus and motivation for this deliberate interference with the plaintiffs’ applications were primarily the wishes and demands of the area councillor, and the desire of some public servants to accommodate those wishes,” wrote McCarthy.

Since he wasn’t a defendant in the case, Orlikow said he became aware of the judge’s statements when the court ruling was released publicly on July 7.

“I really believe somebody (at) the City of Winnipeg or somebody (else) should have (told me)… I may have had my own lawyer there, I may have been able to contest some of those things. But none of that was ever done,” he said.

While he recalls having some “concerns” about the project, Orlikow said he did not try to hold up the development.

“There was never any comments about trying to stymie any development there… so I was quite shocked to find out those comments were made by the administration,” said Orlikow.

He plans to seek potential steps to clear his name.

“This has been very hard for me. I do believe in ethics. (I’m) getting some pretty horrible emails… I’m being accused of doing things that I never did,” said Orlikow.

The court decision follows allegations from Marquess, owner of Gem Equities, that some city officials abused their public positions to stall progress on his Fulton Grove development, which will add 1,918 housing units on 47 acres of south Winnipeg land that’s surrounded by CN Railway Rivers line and the southwest rapid transitway.

Gem Equities submitted a draft secondary plan to develop the area in spring 2014 but council didn’t give final approval to the proposal until November 2020.

The judge concluded Smith had directed city planners to slow down the development approval process and replaced one planner on the project who refused to do so. The judgment also found Robinson had delayed the project from being considered by a city council committee. It also deemed the city “vicariously liable” for the delay.

Mayor Scott Gillingham did not directly answer questions about whether he believes Orlikow played a role in the delay.

“Coun. Orlikow is not a named defendant in the case, as such he didn’t have the opportunity to give testimony in response to what was being discussed… Our city staff is continuing to review the matter as to whether or not they want to appeal, and because it’s still a legal matter, I (won’t) comment any further,” said Gillingham.

When asked if the city will take any action against staff the judge had blamed for delays, or appeal the ruling itself, city spokesman Kalen Qually said only that the staff are still reviewing the court decision “before determining next steps.”

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Meanwhile, Coun. Russ Wyatt urged the city’s chief administrative officer to take action on the findings linked to staff.

“I’m hoping that our CAO (Michael) Jack… (will) take proper decisions with regards to the staffing, the staff (who) made these decisions that have led to this decision of the $5-million hit to ratepayers of Winnipeg… That should be up to the CAO in terms of human resources. But if I were the CAO, then there are certain planners who we should probably part company with,” said Wyatt.

When asked about the findings linked to Orlikow, Wyatt said any response to that should be left up to voters.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga

Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter

Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.

Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.