‘Everyone knew’: Carra says she didn’t hide her financial dealings at the Inglewood estate

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Earl Gian-Carlo Carra says he made no secret of his plans to develop a property in Inglewood, despite not legally disclosing his pecuniary interest in it for more than six years.

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Carra was sanctioned by the council last week after the city’s integrity commissioner released a report on a complaint that the District 9 councilman had failed to disclose his financial interest in the property at 66 New Street SE.

The commissioner’s report found that a $300,000 down payment made in 2015 meant that Carra “had crystallized a financial interest in the property, or at least a financial interest related to the Inglewood property.”

On Tuesday, Carra insisted that he did not formally disclose that the financial interest was simply a “paperwork error.”

Carra confirmed that she made a $300,000 down payment on the property to a family friend, Brian Kernick. The property was purchased by Kernick’s company, Kernick Enterprises Ltd.

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Carra confirmed that the money changed hands, but nothing was put in writing.

“It was a classic Calgary handshake between close friends,” said the Ward 9 councilman.

The title to the property shows that Kernick Enterprises Ltd. became the sole owner in August 2015, at a purchase price of just over $1 million.

Carra said he intended to subdivide the lot and build a house on the property.

“I identified 66 New Street as an opportunity, and said there was no way I could build two houses on this site,” he said. “I don’t have the financial means. I don’t have the bandwidth. I don’t have the time, let alone the ability, to build two houses, but there is money to be made there.”

He said that Kernick was going to build the houses, while he would help with the design and help find someone to buy the other house.

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Kernick confirmed that the initial payment was a handshake agreement and nothing was put in writing.

“It was an oversight,” Kernick said. “I don’t know. It looks like they’re making a mountain out of a molehill. Because, I mean, if there was something shady going on, I would have made money on this. Not losing money.”

Asked if he had ever done another deal where a large amount of money was exchanged without paperwork, Kernick said, “No, not usually.”

Kernick also said that Carra made no secret of his plans for the property.

“Everyone knew it,” he said, “Everyone. Councilors, neighbors, everyone was informed. Everybody knew. I think there was some paperwork that you didn’t fill out correctly and maybe specify it. But it wasn’t like it was a secret.”

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Carra agreed that he made no secret of his intentions with the property. He said that he has always looked for principles in the construction of cities such as environmental design, social equity and affordability.

“I don’t want to build a house that isn’t an example of all those ideas. So we’ve been very open,” Carra said. “Everyone knew. Everyone knew.”

Kernick said his business is no longer related to the property. He said it was one of the longest development permitting processes he had ever been through. He believes much of the opposition to the development of the property was from people who simply don’t like the councilman.

“The fact that he was so open about his involvement and everything else, I really think it hurt us and how long it took to get approved,” Kernick said. “I feel like I took a huge financial hit, sitting on this forever, because people were against the project.”

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Carra said the property now belongs to his wife, and they are looking to sell it or find another partner to build on it.

“I mean, yeah, you can roll your eyes at the handshake deal we did. But, you know, when Mr. Kernick began to notice that his financial position was weakening, he came to us and then we documented the promissory note deal.”

That promissory note is referenced in the integrity commissioner’s report as filed on January 12, 2021. The report notes that Carra did not update his council’s financial disclosure documentation to reflect his interest in 66 New Street until November 10, 2021. .

Aside from not disclosing the ownership in the town hall documents, Carra backs up what he did and says there were no other issues.

“Should he have signed the deal with a family friend before us? Yes. Should he have revealed? Absolutely. And for that they slapped me on the wrist,” Carra said.

“But the idea that anything else was inappropriate is ridiculous, and has been considered and dismissed by major research.”

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Twitter: @brodie_thomas