Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said a tabled motion calling on the province for a formal commission into city decisions must remain independent from city administration and legal staff.
Bowman tabled his motion Wednesday asking the Pallister government to hold an inquiry to see why certain decisions were made, if rule changes are needed at city hall and to compel people to take the stand.
Bowman said in a news release Tuesday some councillors want public administration as well as city legal staff to review the motion.
“I firmly believe any public inquiry needs to maintain independence from administration, and I do not believe administrative and legal staff should be participating in the preparation of a motion calling for a public inquiry into their own processes,” Bowman said.
One of the city projects likely under the microscope if the inquiry is approved is the Winnipeg police headquarters.
The project is nearly $80 million over budget and RCMP allege the city is the victim of a multi-million dollar fraud.
“I committed to bringing this motion forward following serious allegations that have been very damaging to public trust in City Hall,” Bowman said in the news release.
“As a Council, we need to restore public trust in City Hall and that is best done by ensuring the motion coming forward is independent from the public service and legal staff.”
RCMP also allege in court documents former city CAO Phil Sheegl received a $200,000 commission from builder Caspian Construction and that Sheegl shared half of the money with former Mayor Sam Katz. Their lawyer has said the money had nothing to do with the police station. Instead, it involved a land deal in Arizona.
Bowman wants the inquiry to go beyond the police station saga to include other projects like the Canada Post plant near the airport, also built by Caspian, the fire hall land swap deal and other real estate transactions red flagged in a 2014 audit.
Even if the province agrees to this, it is unclear when an inquiry could take place. An RCMP criminal probe is ongoing, but Bowman said there is precedent to run them at the same time.
