The fall session of the legislature ended on Dec. 6, but not before one last blast of hostility on both sides of the aisle.
In particular, the subject of the Global Transportation Hub once again came up as a hot topic of debate during the final week. Opposition leader Ryan Meili hurled questions at the government on that issue on Dec. 4 in Question Period, as recorded in Hansard.
Mr. Meili: —Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Corruption in government doesn’t start out with glaring crimes, with big bribes or rigged elections. It starts with the little things. It starts with the unwillingness to tell the whole truth, with a culture of defensiveness and a belief that those in power can do no wrong. That’s the gnawing concern with this government — the consistent unwillingness to come clean and reveal what’s gone on when suspicions arise on eHealth, on carbon capture, on the bypass, and for years now on the GTH [Global Transportation Hub].
Bill Boyd’s justification that the infamous hurried purchase of the east parcels of the GTH was necessary because of commitments the government had made to Loblaw to build interchanges — well we learned this morning that justification just wasn’t true. We’ve now learned that none of the contracts that were obtained by the media make reference to any such commitments to build interchanges for free-flow access to Loblaw at the GTH.
So my question for the Premier is, what was the real reason for rushing through those purchases? And will he release the contracts with Loblaw so that Saskatchewan people will finally know exactly what this government got us into?
Instead of Premier Scott Moe, it was Minister of Justice Don Morgan who responded.
Hon. Mr. Morgan: —Mr. Speaker, free-flow access is a key element of any successful inland port. It’s not a feature that’s intended for any single GTH client; it’s intended for the interconnectivity of everyone that is in the facility. Mr. Speaker, it eases congestion, but most importantly it’s about safety. It’s how vehicles are moved in and out in a safe and effective manner. And, Mr. Speaker, at the GTH, over 4,800 trucks a week come safely in and out on the free-flow access. Mr. Speaker, Loblaw wanted it. GTH provided it. And I think we should all be glad that it’s there.
The Speaker: —I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Meili: —… Mr. Speaker, it’s long past time this government did the right thing and held a judicial inquiry. The Premier has revealed no viable plan to extract us from this Sask Party-made mess. Will he clear the air, call a judicial inquiry into the land deals at the GTH, and get to the bottom of what Bill Boyd and this Premier’s cabinet colleagues got us into?
The Speaker:— I recognize the Minister of Justice.
Hon. Mr. Morgan:— Mr. Speaker, every day they come up with something new or something different. Today they’re complaining that there’s free-flow access in and out of the GTH. I’m glad that there was because if there wasn’t that free-flow access, those members opposite would be standing in their place saying, you didn’t build it right; you didn’t make it safe; the trucks can’t get out; you’re going to have an accident. Well, Mr. Speaker, literally thousands of trucks a week go in and out of that facility safely. They drop off their goods. They reload their goods. They move in and out safely, exactly as they want to.
There’s a transportation hub in Calgary. It’s got stoplights coming in. They have accidents. They have congestion. They have backup. We don’t have that problem here because it was built properly and appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, that’s what our job was when that facility was built. That’s the way it was built and, Mr. Speaker, the members opposite should say thank you to the people that built it, the people that designed it. And they should also thank Loblaw for the people that they employ there, nearly 1,000 going in and out of there every day. They go in and out on free-flow buses.
The next day, opposition leader Meili resumed his attack.
Mr. Meili: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today we’ve learned that while he was minister of the Economy, Mr. Bill Boyd had issued letters of invitation to facilitate the immigration of individuals to come to Saskatchewan, individuals who are connected to a company that Boyd would soon go into business with shortly after leaving cabinet. A few weeks after leaving cabinet, he would go into business with individuals, including some of the people who were communicating, asking for these letters to be put into place. This is the same business he was involved with that would lead to his eventual departure from this Assembly due to conflict of interest.
Further evidence suggests that Blue River, a company that was affiliated with Boyd’s Modern Hi-Efficiency Agriculture, had individuals connected to them approved through SINP [Saskatchewan immigrant nominee program] to come to Saskatchewan. So my question for the Premier: is it common for cabinet ministers to write letters of invitation directly to . . . for the ministers themselves to write the invitations and to do so at the urging of particular companies?
The Speaker: —I recognize the Premier.
Hon. Mr. Moe: —Mr. Speaker, with respect to the event dating back to last August 2017, I would remind this House, Mr. Speaker, that Mr. Boyd was determined by the Saskatchewan Conflict of Interest Commissioner to be in violation of certain provisions of The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act that applies to all of us here in this House, Mr. Speaker, in relation to his involvement with the agricultural-based business that was referenced here, as well his trip to China in March of 2017.
Mr. Speaker, I remind the members of this House and the people of the province, Mr. Speaker, that immediately after this finding by the Conflict of Interest Commissioner, Mr. Boyd was removed from the Saskatchewan Party caucus. There was consequences, Mr. Speaker. And he resigned his seat in this Assembly shortly after that.
Mr. Speaker, I would just remind the members of this House that there is consequences, Mr. Speaker, in this House when The Members’ Conflict of Interest Act is violated, Mr. Speaker.
The Speaker: —I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Meili: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. A number of questions remain. This is an individual, Mr. Boyd, who was deeply involved, described by Brad Wall as being in the DNA of the Sask Party. And whenever scandals come up — GTH, things that have gone on with carbon capture — you see Mr. Boyd’s name involved.
So my question is, for one, when did the Premier and the rest of his cabinet become aware that Mr. Boyd had been using his position as minister of Economy to bring people into the country who would be connected to his business interests? And will the Premier commit, will the Premier commit to doing a full review of Mr. Boyd’s time in cabinet, of all of the projects that he was involved in, to get to the bottom of just how deeply this web of scandal goes?
The Speaker: —I recognize the Minister of Justice.
Hon. Mr. Morgan: —Mr. Speaker, when the allegations of conflict of interest were made, the matter was handled promptly and expeditiously. It was referred to the Conflict of Interest Commissioner. The Conflict of Interest Commissioner did the work that he’s supposed to do: reviewed the matter, made a determination that Mr. Boyd was in conflict, was in breach of the Act. Subsequently he was removed from caucus. He resigned as an MLA [Member of the Legislative Assembly] not in cabinet.
Mr. Speaker, those things are the way things are supposed to work, and that’s the way they worked in this time. And, Mr. Speaker, the members on this side, when they learned about those things, the information was forwarded directly.
