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<\/p>\nThe Winnipeg Police Service headquarters inquiry entered its fourth phase Tuesday, which will consider ideas on how to alter city practices and help prevent previous problems with big construction projects from being repeated.<\/p>\n
The headquarters inquiry was created to explore extensive problems with the construction project that began with the city\u2019s 2009 purchase of the Canada Post office tower and warehouse at 245 Smith St. An external audit found the project to transform the building into the police HQ was severely mismanaged. Initially expected to cost $135 million, its price soared to $214 million.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, the inquiry heard a presentation about Building Information Modelling, which uses detailed 3D models to guide building projects from design through construction.<\/p>\n
Daniel Kazado, a managing partner with ProCS Professional Construction Solutions, said that process allows greater collaboration and can help closely monitor project costs and any problems that arise.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are trying to make a digital print of the building before it is contracted\u2026. This changes, actually, how we are working,\u201d said Kazado.<\/p>\n
He said precise models lay out fine details to prevent issues, such as ensuring security camera views aren\u2019t blocked by signs.<\/p>\n
While already in use by many local companies, Building Information Modelling is not a mandatory practice in Canada, said Kazado.<\/p>\n
In March, the inquiry heard from a forensic accountant, who estimated $45 million to $50 million in excess claims were filed for the headquarters project. Armik Babakhanians, the owner of main HQ contractor Caspian Projects, has strongly denied allegations that his company overcharged the city to receive that amount.<\/p>\n
In 2023, city council approved a settlement of fraud and construction deficiency lawsuits it raised over the headquarters. The settlement called for the city to receive about $23 million, if paid within three years. That deadline passed in March, so the city asked the Court of King\u2019s Bench to order that it be paid $28 million, which the city says has now happened.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court issued the judgment on March 25,\u201d city spokesman David Driedger said in an email Tuesday.<\/p>\n
While the city received $500,000 of the settlement earlier this year, Driedger did not indicate whether it has been paid any additional money.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday afternoon, the inquiry also heard recommendations on potential changes for Winnipeg\u2019s integrity commissioner.<\/p>\n
Sherri Walsh, who held that role until April, said the integrity commissioner should have the power to recommend more severe sanctions for elected officials who violate their code of conduct.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil has the authority to do certain things, such as remove\u2026 one of their colleagues from a committee. But to do something like suspending remuneration, I think that has to be legislated,\u201d said Walsh.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg\u2019s integrity commissioner has jurisdiction over the code of conduct, as it applies to city council members, and can recommend sanctions to council, which has the final say on penalties.<\/p>\n
\u201cCouncil had the authority to impose (sanctions) under the existing legislation. So, they (include) things like to order a reprimand, a public apology, the return of a gift that ought not to have been accepted, removal from a committee or removal as a chair(person). But that\u2019s it,\u201d said Walsh.<\/p>\n
Additional sanctions could include more severe penalties, such as an up to 90-day suspension on carrying out certain powers or duties, reduced or suspended pay during a suspension period or a fine, she said.<\/p>\n
She said the province would need to alter legislation to allow more sanctions.<\/p>\n
Walsh, who recently became the province\u2019s ethics commissioner, also recommended that Winnipeg\u2019s integrity commissioner become a statutory officer who reports directly to city council, with the power to compel evidence. She said an exemption from the province\u2019s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act requests should also be granted in order to protect communications with the commissioner\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to give advice to a member of council on a confidential basis (is) essential. If a member doesn\u2019t think that the advice is going to be confidential, they\u2019re unlikely to seek it out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The public inquiry into the headquarters began Feb. 10 and was originally expected to include 48 days of hearings, ending in mid-June.<\/p>\n
It was later shortened to ensure it could stay within its $2.3-million budget and is now scheduled to sit on 31 different dates, ending May 22.<\/p>\n
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca<\/p>\n
X: @joyanne_pursaga<\/p>\n
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Joyanne Pursaga Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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