WINNIPEG – As a new season of football is about to kick off at Investors Group Field, Manitoba’s opposition Progressive Conservative party has made a major move off the field.
It has formally asked the Auditor General to look into the stadium construction project – a move aimed squarely at Manitoba’s NDP government which was heavily involved in the troubled project.
“It’s unfortunate this has to be the case,” said Brian Pallister, the leader of the PC Party in Manitoba.
The letter from the Tories to the Auditor General asked for him to “ensure there was no misappropriation or squandering of public funds” and that “…no foul play or wrong doing has occurred.”
The stadium is the subject of a lawsuit launched by Triple B, the building’s ownership group including the Manitoba government, the City of Winnipeg, the University of Manitoba and the Winnipeg Football Club.
READ MORE: Bombers stadium owners’ lawsuit alleges poor design, construction
Triple B is suing the building’s architect Raymond Wan as well as the builder, Stuart Olson.
The lawsuit claims there are several flaws with the stadium including some serious drainage issues. It claims those problems will cost just under $5 million to fix and wants Stuart Olson and Wan to foot that bill.
READ MORE: LIST: Winnipeg Blue Bombers stadium owners cite 42 defects at IGF
In a statement of defence Stuart Olson said the building’s owners got what they asked for. It alleges the timeline for the project was too short for something of the magnitude of a stadium and suggested political pressures were a factor.
READ MORE: Construction firm fires back in Winnipeg stadium legal battle
The NDP government says it will cooperate with the Auditor General fully but deflected questions about any potential wrong doing.
“Rushing a quarterback can be a good thing, rushing a construction project tends not to be,” said Pallister.
The Auditor General tells Global News it will take a couple of weeks to decide if he will look into the stadium.
Since the stadium the subject of a lawsuit, Norm Ricard, the Acting Auditor General, doesn’t want to interfere with court proceedings.
The Auditor General can look into any projects that involve provincial money.
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