With the legislature back in session on April 24 after its one-week Easter break opposition leader Trent Wotherspoon was once again in fighting form denouncing government scandal in Question Period.
But Wotherspoon had some new ammunition this day: a CBC News investigative report about 300 acres of land that Canadian Pacific acquired for free.
That deal became the subject of another heated exchange with Premier Brad Wall in Question Period, as recorded in Hansard.
But the Premier was ready to hurl some fire back at the opposition as well. In his response Wall had a lot to say about the NDP Deputy Leader and former highways minister, Buckley Belanger.
Mr. Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, every day I rise in this House and ask about the Sask Party’s GTH [Global Transportation Hub] scandal. And whether it’s in this House or in the rotunda with the media or across the province, no matter who is asking, the Sask Party says, just trust them. Always they hide information and fail to answer basic questions.
Well the CBC [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation] has uncovered another scandalous secret. It’s clear the Sask Party haven’t been protecting CP [Canadian Pacific] Rail’s image. They’re trying to salvage their own.
Mr. Speaker, the Sask Party may . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . And they’re laughing here, which is outrageous. Boy, you know a government’s worn out their welcome, Mr. Speaker, when they laugh after millions of dollars has been given away and wasted. You know, the Sask Party of course made Saskatchewan people pay for it through SaskPower spending $25 million for land that they’re still not using, just in time to of course make sure that two supporters made millions on the land scandal. Meanwhile they gave away 300 acres, twice as much land for free to CP Rail.
Mr. Speaker, they might try to justify this now, but it’s all more lines and more spin. How can the Premier justify making Saskatchewan people pick up the tab for yet another Sask Party corporate handout?
The Speaker: — I recognize the Premier.
Hon. Mr. Wall: — Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, maybe there was some laughter at the member’s preamble to his question because some of it — frankly, the premise of it — is laughable. And here’s what I mean by that. He wants to ascribe all of this deal, especially the CP land transaction, to this side of the House, to this government.
Mr. Speaker, as we heard from last week, this is the big . . . [inaudible interjection] . . . Well the member is heckling, who is the Deputy Leader of that party. He was the Highways minister for the NDP [New Democratic Party] on July 18th, 2007 when his note said, Mr. Speaker, and I quote, “In April, the province approved $33 million invested in the project.” The note talks about the fact that we want to work with the city of Regina and move the rail to the GTH. At that time it was called the Regina intermodal facility.
Mr. Speaker, in March of 2013, the former NDP minister, John Nilson, said in this House “. . . when the New Democrats were still government, there were initial amounts set aside that would allow this project to go ahead . . .” Mr. Speaker, these were the remarks of the NDP.
I’ve got a whole bunch of other quotes from members opposite who claim credit for this particular deal, Mr. Speaker. There’s articles that were covered, and there’s a CBC article from February, 2007 that highlights that Saskatchewan NDP and city of Regina politicians were going to Ottawa to create support for the GTH. We know from that member’s, we know from that member’s, the Deputy Leader’s own briefing note when he was the minister responsible that (a) they wanted to respect the privacy of the transaction, and (b) that they set aside $33 million to give to CP or to allocate for the land acquisition for CP’s relocation to the hub.
On Tuesday, the same issue dominated Question Period again, with Minister of the Economy Jeremy Harrison rising to answer the Opposition leader.
Mr. Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, that Sask Party government gave away 300 acres of land for free to CP [Canadian Pacific] rail, a company that’s gotten more than their share, Mr. Speaker, and a company, a company that’s part of a duopoly that frankly hasn’t performed for producers and exporters in our province all too often.
Just in case that wasn’t enough, Mr. Speaker, they’ve also committed to all the improvements that corporation needed. Mr. Speaker, it’s their cabinet who voted on the deal. They’re the ones who signed it. They were in office at the time for more than two years at that time. They’ve been in power for nearly a decade. Their GTH [Global Transportation Hub] scandal has been debated for two years. We’ve asked questions on the floor of this Assembly every question period since June of last year.
Even after this corporate giveaway was exposed, the minister responsible still says, “I still can’t speak to the specifics of the contract.” Mr. Speaker, that might be defensible while you’re negotiating, but not now. What are they hiding, and who else got perks or free land in this growing GTH scandal?
The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of the Economy and the GTH.
Hon. Mr. Harrison: — Mr. Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition needs to turn to his seatmate, his seatmate, the Deputy Leader of the NDP. This was his plan, Mr. Speaker. He was the minister of Highways that oversaw the putting together of this plan to transfer . . .
[Interjections]
The Speaker: — I recognize the minister.
Hon. Mr. Harrison: — The Leader of the Opposition needs to turn to his seatmate and ask him for the details because this was his plan, Mr. Speaker. And I give him credit. I give him credit. I know he’s nodding over there. I give him credit. It was a good plan. It was a good plan.
It was supported by the city of Regina. It was supported by municipal governments outside of Regina, and it was supported by the province. And it was supported, and it was supported by the Government of Canada, Mr. Speaker, to relocate the CP yards outside of the city, to move them to the Global Transportation Hub, of which it would be a very important part, the pivotal part, of having the GTH initiate and start up.
The members opposite approved $33 million for the move and the initiation of the GTH. This was the plan of the Deputy Leader of the NDP. I have briefing notes, which we’ve tabled, which we’ve provided to media, that were prepared for the Deputy Leader of the NDP. This was his plan. We think it was a good plan. We agree with the plan, and we move forward with it, Mr. Speaker.
The Speaker: — I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, it’s past time for the Sask Party to display a basic level of accountability to Saskatchewan people. It’s no secret that the previous government was working on, at the time, the Regina region gateway and corridor project. No secret that that included the potential of CP rail moving out of downtown.
But it’s the Sask Party that turned that concept into a scandal, Mr. Speaker. It’s the Sask Party that gave away 300 acres of land for free. And it’s the Sask Party that made SaskPower — that is to say, Saskatchewan people, Saskatchewan ratepayers, Saskatchewan businesses — pay $25 million for half of the land. And it’s the Sask Party who made sure that two of their party supporters made $11 million while nuns, local landowners, and taxpayers got ripped off, Mr. Speaker.
The new GTH minister says, “SaskPower made a business decision. They chose the Global Transportation Hub.” Mr. Speaker, we all know at the time the GTH minister was also the SaskPower minister, and we know his relationship to one of those sellers, Mr. Speaker.
So will the Premier drop the act? Will the Deputy Premier drop the act, quit hiding behind weak excuses, and start to come clean on the Sask Party’s GTH scandal?
The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of the Economy and the GTH.
Hon. Mr. Harrison: — The Leader of the Opposition needs to turn to the Deputy Leader of the NDP and ask him to come clean. This was his plan, and he knows it, Mr. Speaker. He knows that this was their plan to have CP relocate outside of the city of Regina to the GTH as the conditional precedent for the GTH being initiated.
The Deputy Leader of the NDP knows that that cabinet approved $33 million for CP to relocate to the GTH and for the GTH to start. The Leader of the Opposition needs to turn in his seat and have the Deputy Leader . . . I know he’s nodding his head, Mr. Speaker. We saw him nodding his head. Perhaps the Deputy Leader would be interested in confirming that right now, standing up in his place and confirming to the House that that indeed was his plan, Mr. Speaker. Thank you.
The Speaker: — I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, we don’t need a puppet of the Premier. We need some answers and some accountability on the floor of this Assembly. Instead of coming clean, they’re misrepresenting . . . misinterpreting, sorry, a decade-old cabinet document, I guess just like that minister does with the auditor’s report day in day out, Mr. Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, when asked how they decided to just give away 300 acres to CP rail, the minister said, “I can just say, we would have made sure the number would’ve been arrived at based on the advice of professionals.” Mr. Speaker, since when? If anything is absolutely clear about the Sask Party’s growing GTH scandal, it’s that they did everything they could to ignore the advice of professionals and overrode Highways officials.
But, Mr. Speaker, it seems big money talks over there and loudly in this Sask Party’s GTH scandal. Between 2010 and 2015, CP gave the Sask Party over $10,000 and it leaves taxpayers asking questions. Mr. Speaker, why won’t the Sask Party finally do the right thing and support our bill to get big money out of Saskatchewan politics?
The Speaker: — I recognize the Minister of the Economy and the GTH.
Hon. Mr. Harrison: — More nonsense from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Speaker. This was a plan that was initiated by the members opposite, by his seatmate personally, Mr. Speaker, who came up with the relocation of the CP rail yards to the GTH. This was his plan. We think it was a good plan. We adopted that plan going forward, Mr. Speaker. We worked with CP. We work with the city of Regina. We work with other municipalities. We work with the Government of Canada.
But the genesis of this plan was the Deputy Leader of the NDP. It’s in black and white. We have the documents. We’ve given them to the media. We’ve tabled them in the House. The Deputy Leader of the NDP initiated this move. We agreed with it. Why won’t he take ownership for it, Mr. Speaker?
The Speaker: — I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Wotherspoon: — Mr. Speaker, what a joke. What a joke, Mr. Speaker. Not a single answer from a government that’s wasted and given away millions and millions of dollars
At the end of question period, Government house leader Paul Merriman stood on a point of order.
Hon. Mr. Merriman: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. The Leader of the Opposition used the term that I found unparliamentary. He said, instead of the Premier answering the question, a puppet of the Premier, which happens to be a minister of the Crown. I don’t think that’s appropriate for this Chamber, and I would ask the Leader of the Opposition to withdraw and apologize to the minister.
The Speaker: — I recognize the Opposition House Leader.
Mr. Wotherspoon: — I would withdraw and apologize for that characterization.
