Sask. Speaker calls for committee meeting to consider probe into allegations against MLA (2024)

Speaker Randy Weekes has called for a meeting of the House Services Committee to consider a request from the Opposition to investigate allegations against Sask. Party MLA Jeremy Harrison.

Notice of the meeting appeared online on the Saskatchewan’s legislative assembly records calendar, and indicates it is scheduled for Monday, June 17.

During his end-of-session address, Weekes spoke out against what he called “intimidating and harassing” text messages allegedly sent to him by Harrison, as well as the MLA’s “disturbing obsession with guns.”

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“This whole issue with Jeremy Harrison bringing weapons into the legislative building is serious. This is something that needs to be addressed for future Speakers and future governments,” said Weekes Friday morning.

“It can’t be something that’s just ignored.”

Harrison resigned last month as government house leader — but remains as minister of trade, export and development — after admitting he brought a gun into the legislative building. The minister initially denied claims by Weekes that he had done so, but said conversation with family later jogged his memory.

Last week the NDP continued pushes for the all-party committee to appoint an independent investigator and hear witness testimony about the allegations related to guns and inappropriate behaviour by Harrison.

In a letter to Weekes, health critic Vicki Mowat outlined two motions the Opposition felt the committee should consider and pass. One would see Premier Scott Moe, Harrison, current government house leader Lori Carr and senior adviser to the premier Reg Downs appear before the committee to answer questions related to the allegations.

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The other resolution would be to appoint an independent investigator.

Earlier this week, the government said in a written statement that it would not support the motions and pointed to an anti-harassment policy already in place as a sufficient avenue to address the allegations.

When asked for comment again Thursday, the government sent a statement with the same response.

‘They need to show up to answer to these allegations’: Opposition leader

Weekes acknowledged the policy does exist, and said he intends to make a decision in the next few days about filing a formal complaint over the text messages allegedly sent by Harrison.

But there is still the matter of “a cabinet minister bringing a weapon into the legislative building,” he added.

Given the number of staff that work in the building, Harrison’s actions affect more than just MLAs, said Opposition Leader Carla Beck from Saskatoon on Friday.

“I hope they show up. I think they need to show up to answer to these allegations,” Beck said when asked if she thinks the government will co-operate. “I think people want to know what happened.”

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According to the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan website, the committee “is authorized to examine any matter it deems advisable with respect to the rules, procedures, practices and powers of the legislative assembly, its operation and organization.”

Three Opposition MLAs and four government MLAs sit on the committee. For quorum to be reached, all Opposition MLAs and one government caucus MLA would have to attend. Weekes is the chair of the committee.

“I don’t know how they could justify it, but that’s up to them,” Weekes said when asked what message it would send if no government-side MLA attended the meeting.

alsalloum@postmedia.com

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