Report on Winnipeg police HQ scandal criticizes ex-mayor, CAO

A decade after the Winnipeg Police Service moved into their downtown Winnipeg headquarters, the Commissioner of the Public Inquiry into its construction completed a scathing 193-page final report to the project. He called it a sad tale of mismanagement, misconduct and misrepresentations. Former Winnipeg Mayor Sam Cates and former CEO Phil Schigel were among nine people he cited for misconduct. Sam Cates and Phil Schigel for violating their respective codes of conduct with the city of Winnipeg regarding conflicts of interest and ethical breaches associated with Armec-Babakanians, particularly involving their financial dealings with Mr. Babakanians involving payments of money to Cates and Schigel. In the report, Smorang said Cates violated the public trust and Schigel displayed no moral compass when they accepted $327,000 from Caspian Construction owner Armec-Babakanians during the same period Schigel awarded Caspian a $137 million contract and Cates voted at council to increase funding for Caspian. Smorang also said Babakanians engaged in unethical behavior and misrepresentations to inflate construction costs on the project by $42 million and increase his company's profits. Babakanians declined comment. CBC News requested comment from lawyers for Cates and Schigel. Smorang also described numerous management failures on the project. The way that it was handled was not to the level that one would expect a municipality to handle a construction project of that magnitude in so many respects. The police HQ project was already subject to two city audits, a lawsuit that ended with courts concluding Schigel accepted a bribe from Babakanians, and a separate lawsuit Babakanians settled for $28 million. The RCMP spent five years investigating the project for fraud, forgery, and secret commissions, but laid no charges. Smurang made 25 recommendations, including one to the province, to better explain why no charges are made after investigations end. Minutes before the inquiry commissioner spoke, Manitoba Prosecution Services issued a statement saying it is reviewing new evidence from the inquiry to see whether criminal charges could be laid over the Winnipeg Police Headquarters project. Now that new evidence would have to be documents, data or reports because any witness testimony at the inquiry would be inadmissible. Bart McKevis, CBC News, Winnipeg.