Hotline calls lead to city workers’ firings, suspensions for stealing time

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This article was published 13/03/2026 (190 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two city employees were terminated and four more were suspended last year following investigations into “time theft.”

An audit report notes the punishments followed allegations to the city’s anonymous fraud and waste hotline, which accused some employees of spending paid work hours on non-work activities.

Coun. Jeff Browaty said the report shows how the fraud hotline, which is available 24-7 to city staff and members of the public, helps ensure Winnipeggers get good value for their tax dollars.

“The vast majority of city employees are hard-working. They put in an honest day’s work. So, having a fraud hotline to suss out the occasional bad actor is a worthwhile thing to do. I’m happy to see that the system is working,” said Browaty, council’s finance chairman.

The North Kildonan councillor stressed such findings are quite rare among the city’s roughly 10,000 employees.

The report doesn’t reveal which department the employees worked for, what the city discovered they were doing instead of work, or any other details.

A request to interview city auditor Jason Egert was not granted Friday.

A city spokeswoman declined to share further details of the findings.

“We cannot publicly disclose departments (or) details of an offence…. This information could identify people, and these are human resources matters,” Julie Dooley said in an email.

Browaty said many city services can require employees to work alone throughout the city, which complicates daily oversight.

“(Some employees are) riding a lawnmower, they’re watching over a wading pool, they’re doing inspections of wiring. There’s a lot of places within the organization where we have to put a lot of faith and trust in our employees,” he said.

Some serious allegations of wasted city time triggered headlines in the past. In 2019, six employees of the city’s planning, property and development department were fired after being accused of devoting hours of their workdays to personal chores and extended breaks.

The city began investigating how employees in the department spent their days in April of that year, after a Free Press report on a private surveillance operation. That investigation claimed all but one of 17 monitored property and planning inspectors wasted hours of their workdays.

Coun. Janice Lukes said the latest fraud hotline findings illustrate its value.

“In an organization of 10,000 people, not everyone’s an angel. There are renegades in the crowd. And it’s important to have this fraud hotline. I’m sad to see (the findings) but I’m glad to see (the reporting line is) effective,” said Lukes, who serves as chairwoman of public works.

The Waverley West councillor said the report helps ensure the public knows hotline reports are investigated and properly dealt with.

“We’re seeing it’s doing its job here,” she said.

The head of the city’s largest union said Friday that he wasn’t aware of any details.

“I can say that I know CUPE members take very much pride in their work and I’m not aware of any specific incidents happening with CUPE members,” said Gord Delbridge, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500.

“We expect the best from the City of Winnipeg as an organization and, on behalf of the taxpayers, that all city employees conduct themselves with integrity and honesty.”

Overall, the fraud hotline received 61 reports in 2025, with 99 allegations. That’s similar to the 58 reports and 95 allegations filed in 2024.

Last year’s list included: 20 allegations of theft, embezzlement and fraud; 14 of unethical conduct and conflict of interest; and 11 for violations of laws, regulations, policies and procedures. The final category includes some cases where more than one report was linked to a single investigation.

In addition to the time-theft penalties, one employee received a written reprimand over social media use, while another employee and their supervisor were “provided guidance about work expectations concerning punctuality and attendance,” the report says.

Investigations also found one employee failed to comply with local city business travel rules and another didn’t comply with the code of conduct, the report notes.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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