'No meetings are secret': Sask. NDP leader says Moe's accusations are a 'distraction'

Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck said that Premier Scott Moe’s accusations her party secretly met with the group that shutdown legislature proceedings Monday is a distraction.

Members of both sides of the house were escorted out earlier this week after a group of protestors calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza disrupted question period.

Moe questioned why the NDP met with the group on Sunday and did not disclose it to the media.

Beck says she and the party have hundreds of meetings and none of them are secret.

“We have many meetings, one of them was with a group of students who were concerned about what is going on in Israel and Palestine, I take probably hundreds of meetings every month and none of these meetings are secret,” Beck said.

“It’s so transparent and also incredibly disappointing to see this government every time they are on the defense we see them attack,” Beck said, referring to news last week that a Sask. Party MLA had been charged for alleged involvement in a prostitution case.

Beck reaffirmed the NDP was not involved with organizing the protest on Monday that halted legislative proceedings and prompted the government to change security protocol at the legislative building.

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Beck also said that her aforementioned meeting with concerned students did not include plans of flooding the legislature and halting proceedings inside the House.

“I’m happy to provide a list of meetings that I’ve had,” Beck said.

Following official debate on Thursday, Premier Scott Moe said there was a social media post by one of the organizers involved in Monday’s protest that there was a meeting between the group and NDP.

“It’s came to our attention through social media that there was a meeting with part of the NDP caucus with the organizers on Nov. 14 ultimately it was a day later that we saw the [social media] post about the visit to the legislature on Nov. 20 being shared by one of the caucus members,” Moe said.

Moe said the question for the opposition leader and members if caucus is why they failed to mention the meeting.

“I just don’t know that the opposition caucus members have been straightforward with the people of Saskatchewan and that’s a question they will have to answer.”