Sask. NDP claims 2nd motel linked to MLA is hiking prices for social services clients

The Saskatchewan NDP claim another Regina motel connected to a sitting Saskatchewan Party MLA is inflating nightly prices for those on social assistance.

In a news release on Tuesday, the NDP outlined that Minister of Social Services Gene Makowsky “feigned ignorance” when asked if the ministry utilized any other hotels that were linked to any government MLA while speaking to reporters on Feb. 9.

“Only one I’m aware of,” Makowsky said, referring to the Sunrise Motel. The motel came under scrutiny in November when the NDP levelled accusations that the motel — owned by Regina Northeast MLA Gary Grewal — increased prices for a woman staying there once the Ministry of Social Services started paying for her room.

However, the NDP says a conflict of interest disclosure from dated March 31, 2023 lists Grewal, as an investor in the Thriftlodge by Wyndham, located at 1009 Albert St. in Regina.

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The NDP says that means two of the three Regina motels that accept clients on social services have links to Grewal. The Coachman Motel is the third motel that accepts such clients.

Of the three hotels the province utilized in Regina, the ministry paid the most at the Thriftlodge according to the NDP.

From an online rate of $90 a night, the ministry paid an average of $185 a night.

At the Sunrise Motel, the price increased from $99 to $162 a night. At the Coachman Inn Motel, nightly prices increased from $94 to $128 a night.

All rates were based on a one-night booking for Feb. 13, 2024, according to the opposition.

"This matters because the two hotels that are massive outliers in terms of charging the Ministry of Social Services inflated rates appear to be the Thriftlodge and Sunrise Motel," said Ethics and Democracy Critic Meara Conway Tuesday. "This Sask. Party government has not been transparent with the people of Saskatchewan and it appears has tried to mislead people over the Sunrise scandal."

Hotel-related costs for social services have more than doubled since 2018 in Saskatchewan – rising from $1,166,605 to $3,076,235 in 2022, according to the province.

In response to the Sunrise Hotel controversy, the ministry committed to changing the way it procures hotels for those on social assistance.

In a Feb. 8 letter to the Saskatchewan NDP, the ministry said it will now formally obtain quotes from three hotels and direct people to the cheapest option while weighing the safety and needs of the client.

As part of a one-year pilot project, the province is planning to publically procure five blocks of five rooms each in Regina and Saskatoon at a confirmed rate – as a way to evaluate whether the approach is cost-effective.

From 2022-2023, the province spent $220,474 at the Sunrise Motel, $180,315 at the Coachman Inn Motel and $163,704 at the Thriftlodge by Wyndham.

While in the first six months of 2023-2024, the province spent $139,478 at the Thriftlodge, $110,887 at the Sunrise Motel and $63,625 at the Coachman Inn Motel.

--This a developing story. More details to come.