Province accused of not paying settlement

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 14/06/2024 (800 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba government is being accused of failing to pay a $750,000 settlement linked to a terminated lease at a Winnipeg facility for at-risk kids.

Lawyer Dave Hill said the matter is connected to a $6.4-million lawsuit filed by the landlords of 800 Adele Ave. against the provincial government in 2019, after the government moved to break a $9.4-million, 20-year lease agreement between the owners and the First Nations of Southern Manitoba Child and Family Service Authority.

In 2022, a judge dismissed the claim tied to the lease itself. However, the landlords also sought compensation for $1.5 million spent to repair and upgrade the building. That matter was sent for arbitration, which led to an Oct. 30, 2023, agreement that requires the province to pay a $750,000 settlement, said Hill.

“So we waited, we waited, we waited (for payment). Eventually, we got a letter that (the province’s) treasury board had approved it. And then, sometime later, when we were about to finalize the settlement, the lawyer for the government was told to not go any further and not go ahead with the settlement. So, the government reneged on the agreement,” he said.

Hill alleges the government decided its lawyer didn’t have the authority to make the deal.

A new legal application has been filed that seeks a court order to ensure the money is paid. It will be heard today, he said.

“The government of Manitoba… is an institution and it agreed to a settlement. Then the government of Manitoba reneged on the settlement… They’re saying the lawyer didn’t have the mandate to go ahead with the settlement. So, they hung the lawyer out to dry,” said Hill.

Court documents identify Peter Ginakes and Ken Cranwill as “shareholders” of the landlord. Hill said they did not wish to comment.

A request to speak with Justice Minister Matt Wiebe was not granted Thursday.

“As this matter is before the courts, we will not be offering comment,” a spokeswoman said, in a brief email.

The claim follows a long legal dispute over the lease at 800 Adele, which began sparking headlines five years ago.

In a 2019 statement of claim, the property owners say the lease was meant to run from Feb. 1, 2009 until Jan. 1, 2029 to create “a much-needed” stabilization and assessment unit for “vulnerable, at-risk children” in care.

The July 2019 lawsuit alleges a government official told Ginakes and Cranwill if they didn’t sign an agreement to terminate the lease, the government would end it through legislation.

In May 2019, the then-Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation that would have cancelled the lease agreement and prevented the government from being sued over that decision.

The finance minister at the time, Scott Fielding, described the lease as “an untendered agreement for the rental of a facility that was never appropriate for child care,” while then-premier Brian Pallister deemed it “not justifiable.”

The lawsuit alleges the government’s conduct was motivated by “malice, spite and revenge” against Ginakes for his role in obtaining a Tiger Dams contract from the former NDP government.

A 2016 audit found the Adele lease had uncommon provisions, since it was not tendered, had an unusually long term and lacked an opt-out clause.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

X: @joyanne_pursaga