A full investigation into allegations made by legislative Speaker Randy Weekes against Sask. Party MLAs, including former Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison, has been blocked – much to the opposition’s disappointment.
“Today the Sask. Party government had the opportunity to show that they take matters of harassment, safety and security seriously, and that they believe in accountability and that the rules apply to all,” Sask NDP Deputy Leader Vicki Mowat told reporters Monday.
“Instead, we saw Premier Moe’s MLAs run interference for Jeremy Harrison.”
According to the Saskatchewan NDP, the Sask. Party used its majority in the committee to rewrite one motion and vote down two others.
The first motion would’ve called for Premier Scott Moe, House Leader Lori Carr, and Advisor to the Premier Reg Downs to testify before the committee in its original form. The government rewrote it so that no one would be called to testify.
The second motion would have seen the committee appoint an independent investigator to investigate Weekes’ allegations, while the third motion called for an independent investigator to look into an incident that saw Harrison bring a long gun to the Legislative Building.
The government instead voted in favour of an investigation through the legislature’s anti-harassment policy.
“The harassment process is a confidential process. And so I don’t think [the government] wants the findings of that to see the light of day. They want to move on from this. They don’t want transparency around this,” Ethics and Democracy Critic Meara Conway told reporters.
“They’ve now blocked the investigation, knowing full well that that harassment policy will not look into all of the issues raised on May 16.”
NDP MLAs Meara Conway (Left) and Vicki Mowat speaking to media on June 17, 2024. (Wayne Mantyka/CTV News)
On May 16, during the final moments of the legislature’s spring session, Weekes took the time to share a long list of allegations against several members of the governing Sask. Party.
In his statements, he claimed he faced intense bullying and intimidation while serving as speaker and alleged troubling behaviour from Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison.
The alleged behaviour involved a flurry of texts spanning months, criticizing Weekes’ handling of discussion in the chamber as well as physical intimidation.
Additionally, Weekes alleged that Harrison sought to carry a handgun in the legislature and referenced an incident which saw Harrison bring a long gun into the legislative building.
Harrison denied all the allegations – but recanted on the long gun charge days later, claiming he was reminded of the incident after speaking with family members.
The incident, which took place in 2016, saw Harrison bring a cased long gun into the building briefly while he was fully clothed in camouflage hunting gear.
Harrison’s appearance at the building nearly led to a security incident before guards recognized him – according to an email from the Sergeant-At-Arms at the time.
–More details to come…
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