WINNIPEG – Former fire paramedic chief Reid Douglas Tuesday addressed a city hall meeting about a damning audit of the fire hall replacement program he headed.
“I’m here to stand up for the project, for the staff and, quite frankly, for myself,” Douglas told the meeting of executive policy committee. “Neither I or my staff acted with anything but the best intention.”
The audit found the project to build four new fire halls in Winnipeg was mismanaged, lacked appropriate oversight, didn’t follow city policies and went at least $3 million over budget.
The audit showed Douglas signed a letter of intent between the city and Shindico authorizing a deal to trade three pieces of land for property on Taylor Avenue. It was a move the city’s legal services department advised him not to make.
The fire hall was built on Shindico land but council cancelled the land swap. The fire hall is still on Shindico-owned land.
Douglas said a Shindico developer first approached him about swapping three city properties for land on Taylor Avenue.
“My response was ‘We are going to sell them off and use them for the project,’ and he said, ‘Would you consider trading these properties for value against the Taylor property?’ ” said Douglas.
The audit also found that Douglas, who headed the program, lacked the experience and expertise needed to properly oversee the project.
Douglas acknowledged that finding.
“I relied on the guidance of individuals who I believed had that experience,” he said.
He received no monetary settlement nor signed a nondisclosure agreement beyond what was already in his contract, he said.
Douglas on Tuesday didn’t directly address his dismissal at the end of September, referring to it as an “HR issue.”
He told reporters he would like his fire chief job back.
“It would be nice, wouldn’t it,” said Douglas. “I mean, I would like that.”
Sam Katz said Douglas’ termination wasn’t related to the audit.
“There are other serious matters that took place and that is why it happened,” said Katz.
Douglas said his lawyers are talking to the city and he hasn’t ruled out taking legal action over his dismissal.
— With files from Tamara Forlanski
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