Towing company sues Winnipeg councillor, other towing company for defamation

A Tartan Towing truck is pictured on March 8, 2023. (File: CTV News Winnipeg)

A Winnipeg towing company is suing a Winnipeg city councillor and another company, claiming comments they made about contracts in the city have defamed them.

Tartan Towing is suing Coun. Janice Lukes and Bison Towing, along with one of its partners, Zakira Shoaib, claiming media comments they made regarding the towing contract they received harmed their business and personal reputations, and caused them to lose income.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Court of King’s Bench, comes after Tartan Towing bid on and was awarded a contract from the City of Winnipeg to tow vehicles for the Winnipeg Police Service in August 2024.

The contract came as the city had sued Tartan for allegedly overbilling the city $1.1 million for snow-clearing tows. Tartan has countersued the city, and the issue remains before the court.

On Nov. 4, 2024, Shoaib was interviewed on CJOB radio and made comments that Tartan claimed were defamatory.

“Over there, it's simple, straight forward; you give them money, you get a contract. There is no process being followed. We all know about that, right?” reads one statement.

Shoaib is also quoted in the interview as saying, “Specific contract  is given away just to favor some specific people in the market.”

Lukes was also interviewed by CJOB on the same day, and said, “If you think about it, a lot of things are paid in cash, and that’s a lot of cash floating around. When cash floats around, there is [sic] interesting things that can happen.”

Tartan alleges the statements implied that they bribed the city to obtain the contract.

“The Plaintiffs state, as the facts are, that they have never engaged in bribing, paid any officials in cash, or failed to complete their contractual obligations under the Police Contract with the City of Winnipeg.”

The statement of claim alleges Tartan has suffered economic loss and damage.

None of the claims in the lawsuit have been tested in court and no statements of defence have been filed.

Lukes said she would not comment on the lawsuit at this time but defended her statement.

“My job (and) my role here is to ensure taxpayers are receiving value for their tax dollars,” she said.  “I am continuing to look into the multiple towing contracts that the city issues, I'm looking into the transparency, accountability, and oversight. To be clear - I am not concerned about any one towing company, I am concerned about the city's responsibilities when it comes to these very, very lucrative contracts. I also appreciate the Winnipeg Police Services have launched an internal review of their towing contracts.”

Shoaib would not comment on the lawsuit, but said he was still standing his ground on what he said about making contracts transparent.

“Previous contracts were made in a way that no new company can understand it. I still demand for a third-party inquiry on the administration of previous contracts,” he said.