Three people accused of misconduct over the $214-million renovation for Winnipeg’s police headquarters can’t be compelled to testify in the inquiry probing the matter.
Garth Smorang, commissioner for the Winnipeg Police Service Headquarters Inquiry, said those individuals no longer live in Manitoba.
“My ability to compel a witness to testify by way of subpoena pursuant to The Manitoba Evidence Act only extends to witnesses who can be served with a subpoena in the province of Manitoba,” Smorang said in his interim report.
“Three individuals who were served with confidential notices of alleged misconduct reside out of the province and as such cannot be subpoenaed to compel their attendance. Thus far none of these individuals has indicated that they will voluntarily attend to testify.”
The individuals, who were not named in the report, are among several who were formally served with a notice of alleged misconduct stemming from the renovation of the Winnipeg Police Service Headquarters on 245 Smith St.
The inquiry, announced last year, will examine the 2009 purchase and conversion of a former Canada Post building. It required extensive renovations, which were projected to cost $135 million.
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By the time the project was completed in 2016, the final cost came in $79 million over budget.
The project was mired in controversy and the city filed a lawsuit against several people, including its former chief administrative officer, Phil Sheegl. A judge in civil court found Sheegl accepted a $327,000 bribe from a contractor.
Sheegl argued the money was for an unrelated real estate deal in Arizona. He appealed the ruling and lost.
The Court of Appeal said Sheegl was engaged in 14 different derelictions of duty that amounted to disgraceful and unethical behaviour by a public servant.
Police investigated and the Crown decided not to lay charges. The Manitoba Prosecution Service said last year, after reviewing the matter again, there was no reasonable likelihood of a conviction in criminal court, where a case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Two external audits regarding the project were conducted at the request of the City of Winnipeg, and it also requested the provincial government call a public inquiry.
The inquiry is scheduled to start Feb. 10 and run until mid-June.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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