Phase 1 of the Winnipeg police HQ inquiry is over. Here's what we still don't know
CBC
Caspian Construction's Armik Babakhanians concluded his testimony at the inquiry into the procurement and construction of Winnipeg's police headquarters by calling the HQ on Graham Avenue "a beautiful facility."
Former Winnipeg CAO Phil Sheegl concluded his remarks by saying he only wanted to make the city "a better place," and former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz said he "did everything I possibly could" to accomplish the same goal.
The purpose of the inquiry's first phase — 11 days of public hearings spaced out over three weeks, featuring the testimony of 11 witnesses — was to examine the redevelopment of the former Canada Post complex in downtown Winnipeg into a new home for the Winnipeg Police Service.
Katz, Sheegl and Babakhanians had a few minutes each to frame their actions in a positive light after enduring hours of questioning from lawyers as part of this examination.
After two external audits, a five-year RCMP fraud and forgery investigation and two civil lawsuits — including one that concluded Sheegl accepted a $327,200 bribe from Babakhanians and gave half the money to Katz — it's fair to say Winnipeg residents are capable of drawing their own conclusions about the actions of the former mayor and CAO and the performance of the primary contractor on the police headquarters job.
The bigger question remains what new information was uncovered by this initial phase of the inquiry. The audits, RCMP investigation and the lawsuits — the second settled by Caspian and other defendants for a maximum of $28 million — have already yielded thousands of documents with enough pertinent information to fill several large textbooks.
Nonetheless, there remain questions about the $214-million purchase and renovation that were not fully addressed in "the redevelopment project" phase of the police HQ inquiry.
Here are three unanswered questions after two decades of reporting on this story:
Seventeen years after the city decided to purchase the former Canada Post warehouse and office tower in downtown Winnipeg for a new police HQ, it remains unclear why the city settled on that location.
The inquiry heard the Canada Post complex was large enough for the police and sturdy enough to withstand severe weather events, including hurricanes. What was not made clear is whether other potential locations were granted any consideration.
On Feb. 17, inquiry counsel Heather Leonoff asked Sheegl whether there was any discussion about anywhere else the new police HQ might have gone before the city learned the Canada Post complex was on the market.
"I believe there was some research done on some greenfield, which means a building from scratch in a greenfield," Sheegl testified.
"But when I got to the city, it was already determined that that was where it would be."
This does not appear to be accurate.
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