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Fresh off a 30-hour drive from Palm Springs, Calif., to his home in Prince Albert, MLA — and now former Minister of Highways — Joe Hargrave provided his first media interview to paNOW, responding to some of the burning questions and criticism he faced over the past 10 days.
The Prince Albert Carlton MLA came under fire for travelling across the border on Dec. 22 to list his winter home at a time when Canadians were being told by health authorities to refrain from travel of any kind.
Hargrave, who has already apologized for his actions and resigned as a cabinet minister, said he still wishes he could take it back.
“You know hindsight is 20/20 and now I wish I hadn’t gone, but you know, we felt at the time our home there was vacant 10 months and probably going to be vacant another 10 months or a year and we should sell it before something happens to it, like somebody breaks in,” he said.
The opposition New Democrats accused Hargrave of lying about the trip. Ethics Critic Matt Love said real estate listings showed Hargrave listed his property on the market Dec. 26, four days after he had travelled. Love suggested Hargrave was simply making an excuse for ignoring COVID travel rules and taking a Christmas holiday in the sun.
NDP Leader Ryan Meili labelled Hargrave’s cross-border trip “a Christmas vacation” and a “slap in the face” to Saskatchewan families who made real sacrifices this Christmas.
“It was not a holiday and it was a trip down there to deal with my house,” Hargrave said. “What (the NDP) want to do is take us back to the pre-Brad Wall days, when we were taught to be embarrassed by our successes.”
Hargrave explained he is not embarrassed to have had a nice winter house, and was also proud of his previous political work. While also acknowledging the bad timing of his trip, and why his decision upset people, Hargrave said he did not appreciate the misinformation spread around about his family on social media.
“It just gets carried away as to what I was up to, that my whole family was down there and we were partying. We isolated the whole time we were in California and we isolated here,” said Hargrave, who made the trip with his wife.
Hargrave also dismissed the accusation he could have done the deal virtually.
“We’ve had that home for eight years and it was our winter home for my family. We have lots of personal items down there that you are not going to just leave to some stranger,” he said.
The decision to resign
Premier Scott Moe previously confirmed he knew about the trip beforehand. When it came to Hargrave’s decision to later step down from his post as Minister of Highways, he said he and the premier once again had several discussions.
“We came to a mutual decision that I should step down from my role as minister and I’m fine with that because I’ll still be working hard for my constituents in Prince Albert, and I’ll also work hard for the province,” he said.
In addition to the criticism he has faced, Hargrave also acknowledged the support he received, with people claiming it was wrong for him to resign from his cabinet position.
While thanking his supporters, Hargrave also said he plans to step away from social media, possibly indefinitely, due to the “bullying” he said he was exposed to. He dismissed claims he should have a tougher skin because he is an elected official.
“I don’t think anyone signs up for bullying and being a politician, a reporter, a lawyer, a judge, or a kid, nobody signs up for bullying and it’s not right and people should be ashamed of themselves for doing that,” Hargrave said.
As per provincial health protocols, Hargrave and his wife will now be quarantined at their home for the next 14 days, which means no trips to the office and only responding to questions from constituents by phone and email.
Nigel Maxwell, paNOW
