Bowman loving life outside of politics Former Winnipeg mayor won’t say if he’ll seek elected office again, but vows to fight for inquiry into police HQ scandal By: Dan Lett Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Apr. 3, 2023 Last Modified: 9:51 PM CDT Monday, Apr. 3, 2023 Updates

Opinion

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Former Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman would like you to know something important.

He does not miss his old job. Not really.

Bowman said he thoroughly enjoyed his time in office for eight challenging years. However, he is thoroughly enjoying not being mayor after carrying the burden of a broad array of controversies and managing the city through a global pandemic.

So much so that for the last six months, he has deliberately and methodically done nothing of professional importance. Instead, he has spent his time taking care of many items of personal importance.

He coached hockey teams for both of his sons. A lifelong fan of hair metal, he’s working hard to learn the electric guitar. He’s indulging in outdoor activities like kayaking and fishing.

He’s learning to love life away from the scrutiny and adrenaline of elected office.

Bowman’s current sabbatical is the realization of a pledge he made to his wife Tracy in 2018, after he won a second term in the mayor’s office.

“She made me promise I would take some time off just to decompress,” Bowman said in an interview on the Niigaan and the Lone Ranger podcast, his first extended interview since leaving office. “I’ve never had time (off) like this before.”

With a demanding professional life, Bowman said he never really had time to stand back and contemplate his future. “I’ve been really smelling the roses and gearing up for my next professional chapter.”

What that next chapter entails is anyone’s guess. Bowman noted he remains a member in good standing of the Law Society of Manitoba, and that the law still appeals to him as a career. He also acknowledged there would likely be some opportunities for him to continue pursuing a career in politics, if he was interested.

If he is considering taking another run at elected office, he’s not tipping his hand. Bowman said he meets many people who assume that, having caught the political bug, he would graduate to run at another level of government. While that’s not in the cards right now, Bowman will never say never.

“For me, stay tuned. Right now I’m just weighing the different options and I’ll make a decision at some point in the future.”

“For me, stay tuned. Right now I’m just weighing the different options and I’ll make a decision at some point in the future.”–Brian Bowman

There is, however, one file from his days as mayor that will keep Bowman engaged and a willing participant in a public debate: the unresolved issues related to the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters.

Allegations of fraud, mismanagement and bribery continue to swirl around the project. Following two RCMP investigations, Manitoba Justice declined to prosecute any of the key characters in the allegations, including former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl and former mayor Sam Katz.

Disappointed with the decision not to prosecute, a Bowman-led city hall launched a series of civil lawsuits against Sheegl and Caspian Construction, the lead contractor for the project. Those suits resulted in a verdict against Sheegl, who was found in a civil trial to have accepted a bribe, and a $21.5-million, out-of-court settlement with Caspian and a host of other co-defendants.

Bowman is convinced that justice will not be done on this file without a full commission of inquiry, which can only be triggered by the provincial government. That strong belief prompted the former mayor to recently step away from his sabbatical and issue a public statement about the need to continue nudging the province to call an inquiry.

Bowman noted that even though many of the details of the interactions between Caspian, Sheegl and Katz were revealed through the civil proceedings — which relied heavily on case files from the RCMP — there are still many key players who have not been given a chance to tell the public what they know.

For example, the civil proceedings did not permit the city to compel testimony from former members of city council or the civic administration who would have firsthand knowledge of some of the dealings involving Sheegl and Katz. An inquiry, Bowman argued, would ensure those people can reveal what they know.

To date, the Progressive Conservative government has refused all requests from the city to hold an inquiry, claiming it could not be conducted at the same time as the criminal investigation and civil proceedings. Bowman said he sought independent legal advice that indicated the province could, at any time, launch an inquiry without fear of disrupting any other legal proceeding or investigation.

“Unless we can look people in the eye and say, ‘You know what, we’ve done everything we can,’ then there’s more work to do.”–Brian Bowman

“It was a bogus argument. It’s still a bogus argument.”

Bowman said that he will likely continue to wade into the public debate on this issue, at least until the provincial government, or a future one, calls in inquiry.

“Unless we can look people in the eye and say, ‘You know what, we’ve done everything we can,’ then there’s more work to do,” Bowman said. “And a public inquiry would go a long way to really airing out what as the framework that led to something like this happening at city hall.”

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.