Katz will voluntarily testify at WPS inquiry, lawyer says

Former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz will voluntarily testify at the public inquiry into the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters scandal, his lawyer has confirmed.

Earlier this week, inquiry commissioner Garth Smorang issued an interim report confirming that public hearings will start Feb. 10. Smorang noted that a number of key figures in the inquiry received advanced “notices of alleged misconduct” to help them prepare for the hearings.

The inquiry has the power to subpoena testimony if the witnesses can be served with legal documents in Manitoba. Smorang said in his report that three potential witnesses do not reside in Manitoba and thus cannot be compelled to testify. None of the three had indicated they would testify voluntarily.

That led to some speculation that Katz — a central figure in the police headquarters project who lives in Arizona for at least a part of the year — might not participate in the hearings.

His lawyer put an end to that speculation Friday.

“Yes, Sam will be testifying,” Danny Gunn said. “He is doing so voluntarily.”

There is also speculation surrounding Phil Sheegl, who served as the city’s chief administrative officer while his friend Katz was mayor. As is the case with Katz, Sheegl lives for part or, potentially, most of the year in Arizona.

Sheegl’s lawyers could not be reached for comment.

The commission of inquiry will be examining the backroom dealings behind the $214-million renovation of a downtown building to serve as the WPS headquarters. The project, cursed by a broad array of problems, was completed two years late and $79 million over its original budget.

There were two RCMP investigations into allegations of fraud and corruption in relation to the project, and a civil lawsuit filed by the city that relied almost entirely on evidence uncovered by the RCMP.

As a result of that lawsuit, in 2022 the Court of King’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal found that Sheegl accepted a $327,000 bribe from Caspian Construction, the project’s general contractor, to help the company secure the contract through what was supposed to be a competitive bidding process.

The court ordered Sheegl to pay back the City of Winnipeg $1.1 million to cover the bribe, the severance he received when he left his city position, court costs and interest penalties and damages. After three years of delays, Sheegl eventually paid the penalties last week which, when interest was calculated, added up to $1,151,726.36.

University of Manitoba political studies professor Christopher Adams said he has been following the police headquarters controversy for years.

“I’m a little bit surprised Katz is wiling to testify, but I guess we’ll see what he will say,” Adams said. “Having Sam Katz willingly testify will be of great interest.

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“He was the mayor at the time, but he also still has an attachment to Winnipeg. I think he still has businesses here, and the Goldeyes and the stadium. It’s not like he severed all of this ties to Winnipeg when he retired.”

Adams said it remains to be seen how open Katz will be.

“He will be lawyered up and they will have instructed him on what not to speak about,” he said. “I don’t expect a full-blown account of it all, but I guess we will see.”

— With files from Kevin Rollason

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca

Dan Lett
Columnist

Dan Lett is a columnist for the Free Press, providing opinion and commentary on politics in Winnipeg and beyond. Born and raised in Toronto, Dan joined the Free Press in 1986.  Read more about Dan.

Dan’s columns are built on facts and reactions, but offer his personal views through arguments and analysis. The Free Press’ editing team reviews Dan’s columns before they are posted online or published in print — part of the our tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.