A former chief administrative officer with the City of Winnipeg is being asked at a public inquiry why he met with and emailed a contractor about a major redevelopment project.
A civil court earlier found Phil Sheegl accepted a bribe from an executive with Caspian Construction, which won the bid for most of the work converting a former post office building into the new headquarters for the Winnipeg Police Service.
The project ran more than $70 million over budget by the time it was completed in 2016, and the inquiry is looking into what happened.
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The inquiry’s lead lawyer asked Sheegl today about a meeting he had with the executive before the contract was awarded.
Sheegl says he doesn’t remember what was discussed but that, in retrospect, meeting one potential bidder without the others present was “probably not right.”
He was also asked about emails he sent to Caspian after the company and others complained the city was asking for too high a performance bond to bid on the work.
Sheegl says he and others at city hall wanted the contract open to as many bidders as possible in order to get a good price.
The bond was lowered soon after.
Sheegl has denied accepting a bribe. He said money he received from the Caspian executive was for an unrelated land deal in Arizona. The judge in the civil case said that explanation was “fictional.”
RCMP investigated but no charges were laid.
© 2026 The Canadian Press