‘Deeply troubled’ by allegations

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This article was published 29/02/2016 (3179 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mayor Brian Bowman says he’s open to the idea of an inquiry into Winnipeg’s construction and real-estate scandals in the wake of new allegations involving the city’s police headquarters.

An RCMP search warrant unsealed earlier this week elaborated upon allegations of fraud and forgery involving the city’s $214-million police headquarters project, which has suffered from delays, $79-million worth of cost increases and a series of project-management issues detailed in a 2014 audit.

In the search warrant, the RCMP allege Caspian Construction president Armik Babakhanians defrauded the city and used forged documents. The RCMP also allege Babakhanians and Caspian manager Pam Anderson created a forged document. 

In the warrant, Const. Marc Allard said two witnesses provided evidence of fraudulent invoicing and accounting related to the police HQ. He also stated a steel contractor was instructed to show work done on a Winnipeg Transit garage actually took place at the police HQ, house renovations were billed to the police HQ and a general contractor who submitted invoices to Caspian was also billed by smaller companies owned by the company’s president.

Babakhanians said Monday he rejects the allegations, which have not resulted in charges and have not been proven in court.

The warrant also states Caspian wrote personal cheques to former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz while the former mayor was in office. Katz said the statements are accurate and said he accepted the cheques as repayment for concert tickets at MTS Centre and Winnipeg Jets tickets.

During Katz’s time in office, Caspian was awarded both the police-HQ and transit-garage contracts.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday, Winnipeg’s current mayor said he’s troubled by the contents of the warrant, which elaborated upon allegations first reported by the Free Press in 2014.

“These are very serious allegations and  I am deeply troubled by what we’re reading. I am mindful of the fact they are, at this point, unproven in court. We want to continue to support the important work of the RCMP,” Bowman said outside his office at city hall.

“The City of Winnipeg, the media and the public need to hear from the RCMP as to which allegations are true. Once we hear from the RCMP, then all options are on the table here at the City of Winnipeg to do our part to ensure there is value for money and accountability.”

The said that includes asking the province to call an inquiry into Winnipeg’s construction and real-estate scandals, which have also involved the construction of fire-paramedic stations, the purchase of the new police HQ, the sale of the Winnipeg Square Parkade and other city transactions.

“All options means all options. If there are significant unanswered questions that remain unresolved as a result of the RCMP investigation, then absolutely we shouldn’t rule that out,” Bowman said. “I and many others on council ran to do our part to restore trust and faith in city hall. That’s why all options have to be on the table.”

Some members of council are calling for an inquiry now. Transcona Coun. Russ Wyatt said the province should call an inquiry that would cover, at minimum, the cases covered in the real-estate, police-HQ and fire-paramedic audits.

“There’s definitely a perception of wrongdoing,” Wyatt said in an interview. “I think the best thing to do to clear the air is to have a full, independent, judicial public inquiry on all these matters.”

The province, however, will not act before the RCMP investigation is complete.  Rachel Morgan, a spokeswoman for Premier Greg Selinger, said the province will await the investigation’s conclusion before deciding upon an inquiry.

In the interim, Bowman said the city is taking steps to improve the way it manages capital projects. Chief administrative officer Doug McNeil said efforts are underway to change the culture of the public service to ensure more openness and transparency.

The mayor said he has not heard an explanation from Chief Devon Clunis as to why the Winnipeg Police Service did not interview one of two whistleblowers who initially approached city police fraud allegations. Those whistleblowers eventually spoke to an official with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, who wrote to Manitoba Justice, who in turn contacted the RCMP.

‘These are very serious allegations and I am deeply troubled by what we’re reading’ — Mayor Brian Bowman 

“I have full confidence in our police chief and the police service,” Bowman, when asked whether he had concerns about the actions of Winnipeg’s police.

Clunis said in 2014 that the police did act on the complaints about the police HQ, but did not specify in what manner.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca