Release police HQ report: Klein

Mayoral candidate Kevin Klein is lobbying the province to release the final report from the public inquiry into the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters before the upcoming municipal election.

Klein wrote to the provincial government to request that the information be shared promptly and before Winnipeg voters go to the polls on Oct. 28.

A Thursday CBC report stated the document is finished, “has been sent to the printer” and submitted to the province but isn’t expected to be publicly released until after Winnipeg’s Oct. 28 municipal election.

“It’s all about accountability. The report is done. People have waited (many) years,” said Klein.

However, the inquiry’s co-ordinator said the report is still in process.

“The writing is done but the report isn’t complete because it hasn’t been submitted to the government,” said Stacy Nagle, in an interview Thursday evening.

Nagle said the draft is expected to be final but does not have an exact date on when it will be submitted.

Problems related to the headquarters at 245 Smith St. have plagued the city for more than a decade. The building was completed in 2016. First expected to cost $135 million, the price soared to $214 million, including late flood damage and security upgrades.

“The writing is done but the report isn’t complete because it hasn’t been submitted to the government.”

An external audit found the project had been severely mismanaged. RCMP completed a lengthy investigation into fraud and forgery allegations related to it but no criminal charges were laid.

Klein said the inquiry report would help Winnipeg taxpayers understand key details of the project, who was responsible for its problems and what recommendations are being made to prevent similar issues in the future.

“This will tell us what happened, I’m assuming, if there were internal errors that we need to know about. Were they addressed? Have they not been addressed? Why wouldn’t the mayor want that … out to the public so that people can read that before they vote?” he said.

Klein publicly challenged incumbent mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham to join the call to promptly release the report.

“As the mayor of the city, knowing how important this report is to all Winnipeggers and how long we’ve been waiting for it, this would be something that he could talk to the premier (about) and ask him to release,” he said.

A request to interview Gillingham was not granted Thursday.

In a written statement, the incumbent mayoral candidate questioned Klein’s approach to the issue.

“It’s ironic that Mr. Klein is suddenly so eager for accountability on this issue, when he voted against pursuing the (related) lawsuit that ultimately recovered $30 million for Winnipeg taxpayers,” the statement said.

Caspian Projects, the main contractor for the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters project, paid a $28-million settlement for fraud and construction deficiency lawsuits earlier this year. That adds to a $1.15-million payment the city received from former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl, due to a court ruling that he accepted a $327,000 bribe from Caspian. Sheegl denied accepting a bribe before and during the inquiry.

The two legal challenges were originally part of one lawsuit that was later split up.

In 2020, Klein voted against a motion that added $2.25 million to the city’s legal services budget to cover the initial lawsuit.

On Thursday, Klein said that vote reflected his concern about a lack of detail on the need to spend more money.

“Accountability is not giving somebody a blank cheque. Did I want it investigated? Of course,” he said.

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Gillingham stressed he has “consistently supported” the inquiry into the police headquarters construction project.

“I look forward to its findings. This was a provincial inquiry, and I respect that the timing of the report’s release is a decision for the provincial government,” he wrote.

The $2.3-million public inquiry into the headquarters project took place over 27.5 hearing dates between February and May.

The day before the inquiry ended, Manitoba Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said he expected it to produce recommendations that will help the city handle major projects in the future.

The provincial government declined to comment Thursday on the status of the report or the timing of its release.

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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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.