Questions raised about Premier Scott Moe’s trip and award in Toronto

A number of questions are being raised after Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe attended an advocacy group gala and received an award while in Toronto, while officially attending another event.

The premier and a couple of staff members were in Toronto for three days in June, according to expense statements, to attend a U.S.- Canada Summit.

However, the Saskatchewan NDP says Moe spent the second night on the trip attending a gala held by the Coalition of Concerned Manufacturers and Businesses of Canada (CCMBC). It’s a relatively new group which describes itself as providing “a different kind of business advocacy.”

The NDP called it a far-right advocacy group.

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Moe didn’t just attend the gala; he was one of the stars of the night. Moe and former New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs were on the cover of the programmes and were each presented with “game changer” awards.

Neither Moe nor the provincial government spoke about the gala or the award at the time, but Moe maintained on Tuesday that he wasn’t hiding it. The premier said the province will accept awards from time to time, pointing to a Member of the Year award he accepted from the Canada-India Business Council last year, though his government issued a news release when that happened.

In the CCMBC’s online magazine issue about the gala, it said the award was to recognize those who have shown support for small- and medium-sized businesses and had a positive impact on job growth.

In the same issue, the message from the group’s president discussed the “stellar work” Moe and Higgs were doing in taking on the federal government, adding that the pair showed leadership in defending parental rights and “fighting back against insidious gender identity and critical race theory policies” in schools.

Moe gave remarks at the gala, hitting familiar talking points around Saskatchewan’s economy and health care, and the investments his government has made in education with its pronoun policy and using the notwithstanding clause to keep it in place.

Speaking about the event on Tuesday, Moe said the award was given nearly six months ago, so he couldn’t remember quite what it was given for.

“There’s been a lot going on since then, including a provincial election,” said Moe.

“When we attended there were definitely some thoughts in the room and there was a political undertone to most of the people that were in the room, but I don’t think it was the organization essentially that would be pushing that in any way,” he added.

Video from the gala shows the introduction given for Moe at the event by one of the CCMBC’s board members, which included praise for Moe’s opposition to the federal carbon tax, as well as his support of free speech, Canadian jobs, parental rights, and the 2022 “Freedom Convoy” protest. Moe was also lauded for being the first among the provincial premiers to lift the “ill-conceived and unscientific” COVID-19 restrictions.

Moe said he often holds multiple meetings or attends other events when he’s out of province, saying it’s important to build relationships and promote Saskatchewan and its interests.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck’s reaction to Moe’s explanation was to call the premier a bad liar.

“Saskatchewan people expect their leaders to be straight with them even when there isn’t video evidence, but when there is I think that that is insulting to people that they can’t see that with their own eyes,” said Beck.

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck says Premier Scott Moe needs to be more transparent about the trip to Toronto. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

The NDP first brought up the June trip a few weeks ago, concerned about charges of $800 a night for hotel rooms. Moe’s office responded, saying the team also got a hotel room when they arrived early the first morning, making the rooms closer to $500 a night with taxes and fees.

Now, the Opposition said it is concerned about Moe’s appearance at the gala ahead of the provincial election and possible donations. NDP ethics critic Meara Conway said the premier and his group were on a trip to Toronto costing the taxpayers more than $10,000, and spent one of those evenings at the gala while soliciting donations.

“Clearly a partisan event aimed at out-of-province fundraising with Bay Street donors,” said Conway.

Moe was firm that he was not soliciting donations at the event.

Read More:

• Premier Scott Moe breaks silence after election, promising change
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Conway pointed to remarks from the Catherine Swift, CCMBC’s president, to the crowd at the gala, available on video online, letting them know that Saskatchewan, like New Brunswick, does allow out-of-province donations.

“We should all want to support these good, solid premiers that are showing leadership across the country, and having the guts to fight the destructive Trudeau government. So, again, I would encourage anyone that feels that way to contribute to the political fortunes of these two great premiers who are here tonight,” said Swift.

Moe said he didn’t know if there were any donations which came out of the event.