One of the key players in the fire station scandal in Winnipeg spoke out for the first time Tuesday.
Winnipeg's former fire chief addressed city council the day after a scathing audit into the construction of four fire halls and a questionable land swap deal.
Reid Douglas, who the city fired weeks ago, said he showed up Tuesday to be accountable and defend his staff and the project.
“Neither I nor my staff acted with anything but the best intention for the city,” said Douglas.
Douglas admitted he did not have the resources or expertise for the projects, as the audit points out.
The audit said the fire station projects were mismanaged and that Douglas was in over his head and did not have proper support.
The former fire chief agreed.
“There was a lot of expertise that I was missing, a lot of knowledge. I accept full responsibility for that,” said Douglas.
Outside Winnipeg council’s chamber, Douglas said it was developer Shindico that came up with the idea of swapping three city properties for the Taylor Avenue land where a new fire station now sits on property still owned by Shindico and not the city.
Douglas said Shindico began building before any contract was signed to exchange the land. He said he warned the developer.
“You could have a very expensive 7-Eleven on that property that looks like a fire hall one day because if we don't get this land deal done or a contract with you, you're going to own the building," said Douglas.
Shindico told CTV News it had a contract with the city to proceed.
The audit said Shindico was favoured over other companies in the bidding process to build the four new stations, and was even given exclusive information not available to anyone else.
The probe concludes former chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl, a friend of Mayor Sam Katz, oversaw the project.
Coun. John Orlikow (River Heights - Fort Garry) questions the relationship between Sheegl, Katz and Shindico.
"We've seen in the audit, it’s a very cozy relationship. It's too cozy," he said.
Katz said he cut ties business ties with Shindico’s owners, stressing he bought them out of their shares in his Goldeyes baseball team.
And, Katz disputes comments from councillors like Orlikow that the mayor is too close to the developer.
“They’re anything but accurate or truthful,” said Katz.
The release of the audit into the fire halls on Monday has not put a stop to questions about the projects.
Council voted Tuesday to have the auditor go ahead and question all of Winnipeg’s councillors to find out what they knew, if anything.
Coun. Paula Havixbeck (Charleswood – Tuxedo) was previously the only councillor interviewed.
There are also multiple calls for a police probe or some type of inquiry at the provincial level into the handling of the city fire hall projects.
During his address Tuesday, Reid Douglas said he was never given a clear answer why he was fired. In regards to his termination, he called it a questionable human resources issue.
He said he and his lawyers are in discussions with city officials.
CTV News asked Douglas if he would like his old job as fire chief back. He said yes.
Mayor Katz said, however, that’s not going to happen.
- with a report from Jeff Keele
