Winnipeg fire-paramedic land swap records were shredded, internal RCMP documents reveal
CBC
Documents were shredded, property values were altered and a city worker was pressured into claiming different parcels of land were equal in value.
These are some of the findings of an initial RCMP investigation into the construction of four fire-paramedic stations in Winnipeg, as well as 33 major city real estate transactions.
Documents obtained by CBC News through access to information legislation paint a picture of what the Mounties learned in 2014 and 2015 through Project Dioxide, one of two investigations into the capital construction and real estate scandals that afflicted city hall a decade ago.
The investigation did not result in any charges. But the Mounties didn't close the door on the possibility of future criminal charges related to the real estate transactions.
"Should a whistleblower/informant come forward with information, this matter could be reviewed for further action," RCMP Cpl. Breanne Chanel stated in a May 2015 document.
A separate investigation, Project Dalton, resulted in a five-year criminal investigation into the procurement and construction of Winnipeg's downtown police headquarters. While Mounties forwarded what they learned to Crown attorneys, Dalton also wrapped up without any charges laid.
The police headquarters, the fire-paramedic stations and the real estate transactions were the subject of scathing, city-commissioned audits published in 2013 and 2014.
In August 2014, the province asked the RCMP to review those city-commissioned audits, in order to "determine if any criminality has taken place," the RCMP said in an investigative report, created in 2014 and recently obtained by CBC News through access to information legislation.
The large volume of material in the audits required the creation of the Dalton and Dioxide teams.
The Project Dioxide investigators looked at city policies and procedures, secret commissions and the procurement process. They also examined whether any evidence supported undisclosed conflicts of interest or whether anyone derived benefits from the transactions.
While the documents CBC obtained are heavily redacted and don't contain names of people police suspected of wrongdoing, they do note police interviewed a number of people.
The names of interviewees were also withheld, but meeting logs and investigation reports laid out what the Mounties learned from interviews.
Possible charges considered by police included breach of trust by a public officer, municipal corruption, fraud over $5,000 and the payment of secret commissions.
The most dramatic revelations in the RCMP documents pertain to Winnipeg's fire-paramedic station replacement program, which saw the city build new halls in River Heights, Sage Creek, St. James and Charleswood.
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