Ryan Thorpe
Winnipeg Free Press
Canada
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Profit-driven policing
Manitoba’s Criminal Property Forfeiture Unit seized an estimated $11.89 million in tainted assets during the 2021-22 fiscal season — an increase of 346 per cent over the previous year, and far and away the largest annual haul since the unit’s inception. → Read More
Advocate calls alleged serial killings a hate crime
The executive director of the oldest and largest Indigenous women’s agency in the country says the recent case of an alleged serial killer in Winnipeg reveals the racism and misogyny that lurk throughout Canadian society. → Read More
The Leaf at Assiniboine Park welcomes first visitors
The parking lot was full and Winnipeggers came out in droves Saturday morning for the public opening of The Leaf, the new indoor horticultural attraction at Assiniboine Park. → Read More
Leaked documents reveal police HQ project wasn't financially sound when construction began
The temperature hovered just below freezing on Jan. 15, 2010, when 11 people arrived at city hall for a Saturday meeting in the boardroom of then-chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl to discuss the downtown Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project. → Read More
Eight years later, key “non-existent” police HQ meeting minutes magically appear
It took significantly longer than a minute for key meeting minutes relating to the controversial Winnipeg Police Headquarters construction project to emerge. More than 4.2 million of them, in fact. → Read More
Festivals fill the streets
Street festivals made a triumphant return to Winnipeg this weekend as communities came together once more to move toward a post-pandemic city. The annual Art City parade had a sizeable turnout and brought smiles to the faces of children and adults alike, with participants dressed in costumes and holding placards aloft while manoeuvring floats down the streets of West Broadway. → Read More
Email trail intertwines city, real estate company on police HQ project
A trail of emails obtained by the Free Press provides fresh insight into the close and collaborative relationship between local development firm Shindico and Winnipeg city hall during the administration of former mayor Sam Katz. The emails reveal backchannel communication regarding several real estate projects, including a case where a specific city councillor was identified as an obstacle. → Read More
Design engineer repeatedly told city officials police behind HQ’s rising costs, delays
A key player in the construction of Winnipeg’s downtown police headquarters repeatedly raised concerns with senior city administration about design changes pushed by the police service causing significant cost overruns and schedule delays. → Read More
Audits into construction job concerns repeatedly produced recommendations that were sometimes not implemented
Unexpected cost overruns, significant schedule delays, poor project planning, bad management and haphazard record keeping. Those were the findings of a series of audits into municipal capital projects in the years leading up to the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters controversy. → Read More
Document shows police not innocent in HQ cost overruns
One year before the completion of the controversial downtown police headquarters project, then-Winnipeg Police Service chief Devon Clunis told a news conference at city hall the force wasn’t responsible for runaway construction costs. Clunis was armed with a newly released audit, which he and city councillors said absolved the WPS of responsibility for the skyrocketing price tag. → Read More
Volunteers build welcoming beds for Ukrainian refugee children
Thanks to the work of some dedicated volunteers, 60 newly arrived children from war-torn Ukraine now have a place to rest their heads at night in Winnipeg. The charitable organization Sleep in Heavenly Peace Winnipeg (SHPW) brought together more than 50 volunteers on Saturday to build twin-size beds for Ukrainian families in need. → Read More
Missing: active pathways, millions to pay for them
On paper, it seems like a pair of simple projects that could easily be done to move Winnipeg’s active transportation agenda forward. But like most things in the city, what is budgeted and what actually happens are two different things. → Read More
City wants to add 12 defendants now, maybe more later, to police HQ lawsuit
The City of Winnipeg wants to sue more people and companies connected to the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project, and Mayor Brian Bowman says there could be more to come after that. → Read More
Judge steps away from civil trial over police HQ project
Manitoba Court of Queen’s Bench Chief Justice Glenn Joyal has decided not to hear an upcoming civil trial arising from the controversial Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project, citing the “spectre” of bias. → Read More
A decade of dubious deals, disquieting dollars
Controversy was a frequent visitor to city hall during the administration of Sam Katz, who served as Winnipeg’s mayor from 2004 to 2014. In recent years, the spotlight has focused on one: the Winnipeg Police Service headquarters construction project. That’s because in December 2014 — one month after Katz left office — the RCMP raided Caspian Construction, the firm awarded a single-sourced… → Read More
Mayor wasn’t aware of second RCMP probe into Katz-era deals
Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman is renewing his call for a public inquiry into controversial capital projects and real estate deals during the Katz-Sheegl era at city hall after the existence of a second, parallel RCMP probe has come to light. → Read More
RCMP put Katz-era deals under secret microscope
The discovery of a secret police investigation into a string of municipal real estate deals and a controversial capital project sheds new light on the scope of suspected criminal activity at Winnipeg city hall during the Katz-Sheegl era. → Read More
Personal reflections during holy season
Church bells clanged throughout Winnipeg Sunday morning, welcoming parishioners to the first in-person Easter services held in the city since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic more than two years ago. → Read More
Manitoba’s most powerful chief accused of sexual assault
A woman in a senior leadership position at the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs has accused Grand Chief Arlen Dumas — the most powerful Indigenous leader in the province — of sexual assault. A formal criminal complaint has been filed with the Winnipeg Police Service sex crimes unit and the assembly’s executive council of chiefs was notified about the allegation Monday. → Read More
Public works rejects mismanagement allegations
Winnipeg’s public works department responded publicly for the first time Thursday to allegations of financial mismanagement within the traffic signals branch at a special meeting of the city’s finance committee. Chairman Scott Gillingham (St. → Read More