Today, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) held a press conference at Winnipeg’s city hall with retired auditor Graham Lane to dispel the myth that an audit of the police headquarters would take a year to complete and cost a fortune.
Lane, a chartered accountant and past chair of the Public Utilities Board noted that an audit could easily be completed, tabled at city council and released publicly before this fall’s civic election.
“The bottom line is, if Council wants the audit completed and made public before the election this fall, it can easily done,” said Lane. “Unlike other audits the City has engaged in, such as the one for the four fire halls and several real estate transactions, an audit of the police headquarters’ construction process is for a single project.”
“City council just approved an operating budget that calls for cuts to city services and unpaid days off for city employees next Christmas,” said Local 500 President, Mike Davidson. “Yet to the Mayor and some councillors, the $75 million in cost overruns seems to be no big deal. Clearly the citizens have a right to have an audit conducted and completed before the next civic election.”
“Some have suggested an audit will cost a small fortune and take a year to complete, but that’s simply not true,” said Colin Craig, CTF Prairie Director. “An audit can be delivered for a reasonable cost and within a short time frame if council and the administration make it a priority.”
In November 2013, a motion for an audit was defeated 9-7. It is expected that some councillors will bring forward a new motion to revisit the audit vote at the meeting of city council on January 29.
The Local will update the membership as new information becomes available.
