Sask. NDP seeks stronger conflict-of-interest laws after Grewal case

The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party (NDP) called on Monday for changes to give the province’s conflict of interest legislation some teeth.

The Dec. 9 push came on the heels of the government declining to hear motions to bring former Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal to the legislative building to answer questions.

Grewal was found to have violated conflict of interest legislation with his hotels — one he owned and the other he invested in. Grewal took issue with the commissioner’s findings.

The two hotels, over Grewal’s four years in government, ended up taking in more than $731,000 in business from the Ministry of Social Services for emergency hotel rooms for clients, allegedly charging inflated rates. The NDP said Grewal’s hotels had gotten $1,309 between 2018 and 2020 before he was elected.

During the election campaign and, most recently, last week, Premier Scott Moe dismissed questions about Grewal, saying simply that he’s a private citizen and, in future, Moe expects all MLAs to be in compliance with the rules.

Read More:

On Monday, the NDP said in a news release, it’s gotten legal advice saying the current rules likely prevent any penalty against former MLAs.

So, the party is calling for the legislation to be strengthened, with a possible fine of $50,000 for violations.

“With the law as it currently stands, the Sask. Party is basically saying that MLAs can break the law and line their pockets with public money so long as they don’t run again,” Meara Conway, NDP ethics and democracy critic, said in a news release.

“No fine, no punishment — you just get to sail off into the sunset with three-quarters of a million dollars of public money in your pocket.”

Monday afternoon, during question period, Premier Scott Moe said he’s asked the Justice Minister to review the conflict of interest legislation.

“It’s likely time to have a look at the Act, Mr. Speaker. When you look at what has happened since 1993 — I think the very first cell phone in this province was about 1988 or ‘89, Mr. Speaker. It didn’t have access to the internet like we see on our cellphones here today. You see what is happening with internet access, with social media, all of the above, Mr. Speaker, it’s likely time to look at that Act,” said Moe.

However, the premier didn’t commit to the penalties the NDP was asking for.

Read more: