The Saskatchewan RCMP will not be laying charges in connection to their investigation into land dealings associated with the Global Transportation hub.
In consultation with Manitoba Prosecution Services, police determined that there is not enough evidence to support criminal charges in relation to GTH land transactions.
This follows an investigation launched in February 2016 that looked into transactions taking place between March 2012 and April 14.
Over 40 people were interviewed in relation to the investigation and thousands of pages of documents were examined. The documents were freely provided to investigators by the holding parties.
Police say that they devoted around 7,500 person hours into this investigation.
The NDP said it is thankful for the work police put into the investigation.
“The work in holding the Sask. Party to account will remain, as we still need to get to the bottom of how and why millions of Saskatchewan taxpayers’ dollars were wasted in this expensive land flip,” leader Ryan Meili said in a written statement. “The NDP, along with many Sask. Party leadership candidates, have been calling for a full judicial inquiry into this matter. We renew our call once again.”
Justice Minister Don Morgan said there were mistakes in the government’s handling of the land deal.
“We did a poor job in assembling the land,” Morgan said in a written statement. “We moved too slowly. That allowed speculators to move in, buy the land and resell it at a much higher cost to taxpayers than we would have paid had we acted sooner.”
The government went on to say the GTH is an important project that has created hundreds of jobs and improved market access in Saskatchewan.
The Sask. Party said it is now looking to move forward with the GTH.
