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A week after allegations were unveiled against the provincial government and its house leader in the legislature, the Opposition NDP is putting out more feelers asking for answers.
Last week, Speaker Randy Weekes detailed allegations the Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison had been harassing and intimidating him for years and that Harrison had brought a hunting rifle to the legislative building and wanted to bring a handgun.
Harrison has not been seen or heard from since then. Premier Scott Moe has said he spoke with Harrison, who denied the allegations.
On Thursday, Sask. NDP’s Meara Conway sent letters to three people she believes could she some light on the truth – head of legislative security Dani Herman, sergeant-at-arms Lyall Frederiksen, and Saskatchewan Chief Firearms Office Robert Freberg.
The questions in the letter include whether Harrison ever requested permission or gotten permission to carry a handgun in the building, whether he has authorization to carry a handgun in the province, and if Harrison ever brought a long gun into the building.
Conway said those three people are in a position to possibly have answers to these questions and she’s not concerned about how truthful any answers will be.
Though the premier has said the incidents involving guns didn’t happen, Conway said that’s not good enough.
“You know what doesn’t, sort of, reinforce the sense that that is good enough? The the fact that the premier is now hiding Jeremy Harrison. I mean, Jeremy Harrison must have the blessing of his government to have totally gone M.I.A.,” said Conway.
She and the NDP believe there should be an independent investigation into the speaker’s allegations and Conway said she’s shocked at the premier’s dismissal of them.
“These are serious issues, they deserve to be taken seriously. And the premier’s response is not good enough,” she said.
Conway said the premier’s lack of response shows a weakness in leadership.
“We would expect the premier as a colleague, let alone the premier of Saskatchewan, to take this very seriously and not take Jeremy Harrison’s word for it,” she said.
980 CJME requested an interview with Harrison about the allegations but was told the minister isn’t available this week.
Premier responds
Premier Scott Moe told reporters in Saskatoon that he was “bewildered” at how these allegations came to light.
“There’s a number of, I think, avenues that one would expect an elected member to take,” Moe said.
“As a member of caucus we have a process, whether it be harassment or anything that can be followed, if it’s recorded. The sergeant-at-arms, for example, is a an entity providing security in the Legislative Assembly that reports directly to the speaker. The (Legislative District Security Unit) is a security force within not only the building but the grounds around the Legislative Assembly as well.”
Moe said he wasn’t aware if either of those entities were contacted.
The Premier said he didn’t have much more to say about the matter beyond his bewilderment.
He stated that a potential investigation would be held by the LDSU or sergeant-at-arms or another entity instead of himself.
“There’s law enforcement entities that are providing protection of people that visit the Legislative Assembly, some of which report to the speaker, some of which report up through the ministry,” he said.
“If they had a report and decided that they should be having a look at something, that would be their prerogative as it would be the prerogative of the RCMP or the (prerogative) of any municipal police force.”
— With files from 980 CJME’s Mia Holowaychuk and Daniel Reech
