City of Winnipeg sues towing company, alleging outstanding payments

A Tartan Towing truck is pictured on March 8, 2023. (File: CTV News Winnipeg)

The City of Winnipeg is suing a towing company, alleging it is still owed thousands of dollars in payments for work.

The lawsuit, filed in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench on April 16, accuses Tartan Towing of not paying $301,808 owed for all tows.

According to the lawsuit, Tartan was awarded a city contract in 2019 to tow vehicles for the Winnipeg Police Services in cases when the driver is impaired, suspended or unlicensed.

As part of the agreement, the company would submit a cost recovery fee of $25 per tow to the city.

The lawsuit alleges that police reviewed Tartan’s contact, comparing the number of police holds recorded by the traffic division to the reports filed by Tartan and found that cost recovery fees had not been paid.

In February 2026, the city sent a notice to Tartan outlining that they owed $301,808 for the tows. The number includes $146,900 in cost recovery fees for 5,876 tows, as well as $147,563 in interest payments and $7,345 in GST.

In March, the lawsuit alleges Tartan sent a message to Winnipeg police denying it owed any money to the city.

“To date, Tartan has failed to pay any of the outstanding CRF amounts under the terms of the 2019 contract that are due and owing to the city, and interest continues to accrue on those amounts,” the lawsuit reads.

The city is seeking unspecified general and special damages that will be determined at trial.

None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court. No statement of defence has been filed.

The city previously sued Tartan in 2023 for allegedly overbilling them $1.1 million for tows that didn’t happen. Tartan later countersued the city, saying they acted in good faith while being contracted by the city. The City of Winnipeg said the lawsuit remains before the court, and could not provide comment.

CTV News has reached out to Tartan Towing for a response on the current lawsuit, and is awaiting a response.

-With files from CTV’s Jeff Keele and Danton Unger