Government won’t support committee recall for investigation into Weekes’ claims

The Sask. Party Government is giving a big “no” to the Sask. NDP’s plan to launch an investigation into allegations made by Speaker Randy Weekes, saying there’s already a process to address and resolve such claims.

NDP ethics critic Meara Conway wrote to Weekes, who chairs the House Services Committee, asking him to reconvene the committee and to engage a third-party investigator to look into the allegations Weekes made at the end of the spring session.

He said he’d experienced years of harassment and intimidation, reading some text messages into the record. Weekes also said former Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison had brought a gun into the legislative building, which Harrison admitted to after initially denying it.

Harrison said he brought a cased firearm into the building because he was about to leave on a hunting trip and wanted to avoid leaving a gun unattended in his car. He said he didn’t remember it had happened when Weekes initially brought it up, but later apologized and stepped down as house leader.

Premier Scott Moe has attributed Weekes’ allegations of harassment and intimidation to resentment following his December loss in a Sask. Party nomination race. Moe also said Weekes never previously raised the issues with him.

After receiving Conway’s letter, Weekes wrote to the members of the committee and asked what they wanted to do.

In an emailed statement, the provincial government said that the anti-harassment policy for the Legislative Assembly – part of the code of conduct for MLAs – is the appropriate place to address such allegations, so its members, which constitute a majority on the committee, would not support a recall motion.

“The policy spells out a clear process for reporting and resolving allegations of harassment,” the statement read.

“It includes an investigation process and a provision to engage an independent outside investigator if necessary. This is the process that should be followed should the Speaker, or any Member of the Legislative Assembly, wish to make a harassment complaint.”

In response, NDP deputy leader Vicki Mowat said in a letter that the policy doesn’t adequately address the concerns rising from Weekes’ allegations.

“Though we acknowledge the policy is designed to be fair and impartial regarding member-on-member harassment, this policy on its own is ill-suited to getting answers to the questions many Saskatchewan people still have,” read Mowat’s letter.

As of Tuesday morning, the NDP was still asking Weekes’ to reconvene the committee.

Mowat has said that if the committee is struck, the NDP members will introduce two resolutions – the first to have Moe, Harrison, Lori Carr, and Reg Downs brought before the committee to answer questions about Weekes’ allegations, and the second to have an independent investigator appointed to look into the allegations, with the power to subpoena witnesses and compel them to testify under oath.