'Trust and accountability': Sask. NDP renew calls for investigation of former gov't house leader

The NDP Opposition believes the change in former Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison’s story concerning his visit to the legislative building with a gun warrants his removal from the Sask. Party’s cabinet and caucus.

Harrison admitted to bringing a long gun to the legislature after initially denying the incident ever took place.

“This is about trust and accountability,” Ethics and Democracy Critic Meara Conway told reporters Monday.

Two weeks have now passed since Speaker Randy Weekes publically aired his grievances with Harrison – making a wide array of accusations including harassment and intimidation.

Additionally, Weekes’ made the claim Harrison sought to carry a handgun in the legislature and once brought a long gun to the building.

An email between the Sergeant-at-Arms and the Speaker of the House in 2016 showed that security staff were close to alerting the building that someone with a gun was approaching the legislature – but stopped short when Harrison was recognized.

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The Saskatchewan NDP continues to push for an investigation into Harrison’s actions.

The opposition has staged nearly daily news conferences on the issue. At the latest event, a video of the premier initially denying that Harrison once brought a gun to work was played.

“I have been informed that they are all unequivocally false, unequivocally false,” Moe said in the video, dated May 17.

The NDP have prepared a calendar – highlighting the initial denial date and later admission that a gun had been brought into the legislative building nearly a decade ago.

“Minister Harrison has now been caught lying to the public at least three times,” Conway said. “He lied to the public about bringing a gun to the legislature, he lied to the public about whether security knew and then he lied to the public about when he informed the premier.”

In response, the Government of Saskatchewan referred media to Premier Moe’s comments last week as he accepted that Harrison had a memory lapse and later recalled what had taken place in 2016.

“I really just should not have stopped at the building and that would have been the appropriate thing to do,” Harrison told CTV News on May 24.

Last week saw Conway send a letter to Weekes’ asking that a house committee be convened to investigate Harrison’s conduct.

The opposition is still waiting for a response.