WINNIPEG — The Manitoba government is launching a public inquiry into a construction project by Winnipeg City Hall that ran over budget and led to a police probe and lawsuits.
The inquiry is to delve into the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters — a converted old Canada Post building. By the time the project was completed in 2016, it had run $79 million over budget.
The city filed a lawsuit against several people, including its former chief administrative officer, Phil Sheegl, who was found by a judge in civil court to have accepted a $327,000 bribe from a contractor.
Sheegl argued the money was for an unrelated real estate deal in Arizona. He appealed the ruling and lost. The Court of Appeal said Sheegl was engaged in 14 different derelictions of duty that amounted to disgraceful and unethical behaviour by a public servant.
An RCMP investigation involved many people over roughly five years.
In the end, Crown attorneys decided to not lay charges, citing an unlikelihood of conviction. The Manitoba New Democrats, while in Opposition, obtained an RCMP briefing note that showed Mounties recommended charges of financial crimes with an estimated value of more than $33 million.
Before winning the 2023 provincial election, the New Democrats promised a public inquiry. Justice Minister Matt Wiebe said Tuesday the probe would examine what happened and recommend changes for the future.
"An inquiry into the police headquarters project will help restore public trust and confidence, and its recommendations will ensure best practices are used to prevent similar mistakes from being repeated," Wiebe said.
It's not clear how many answers the inquiry might provide.
Garth Smorang, the Winnipeg lawyer appointed inquiry commissioner, said he's unlikely to delve into why the Crown did not lay charges.
"I think I can pretty confidently say that it won't be my job to second-guess the Crown attorneys. They are expert in what they do," he said.
Smorang also has the power to subpoena people to testify, but he was uncertain Tuesday whether that would extend to people outside Manitoba. Some of the key players in the construction project are not in the province.
The inquiry has been given a budget of $2 million and a deadline of Jan. 1, 2027. The money is a fraction of the $14 million spent on the province's last major inquiry — a probe into the death of Phoenix Sinclair, a young girl who died after horrific abuse and neglect after she fell through cracks of the child welfare system.
The construction inquiry will be "future-focused," Wiebe said, with recommendations expected on ways to make projects more transparent and restore public trust.
Smorang said he doesn't intend to retread ground covered by the courts and other forums.
"One of my terms of reference is not to rehash what has already been done but to take what has been done and to use it to bring something valuable to the table, which is (a) better process in the future," Smorang said
Former Winnipeg mayor Brian Bowman had called for a much broader probe covering other projects as well. Former Progressive Conservative premier Brian Pallister rejected that call.
Mayor Scott Gillingham, elected in 2022, said Tuesday he hadn't seen the inquiry's detailed terms of reference but appreciates the opportunity to examine the construction project.
"I think any information that can shed light on what happened is information I welcome."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 11, 2025.
Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press
