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Jeremy Harrison is stepping down as Government House Leader after admitting he brought a gun to the Legislative Building ahead of a hunting trip, but he says it happened a decade ago and security staff were informed.
The issue first came to light when Speaker Randy Weekes raised it during the final day of the spring session, along with allegations of harassment and intimidation he said he’s faced from Harrison and other government members during his four-year term as Speaker.
“I have never had a firearm in the Legislative Chamber or anywhere in the Legislative Building during the period that MLA Weekes has been Speaker,” Harrison said in a statement issued on Friday.
“Approximately a decade ago, I was going hunting on a weekend. I stopped at the Legislative Building for a short period of time and brought a properly cased long gun into the building with the knowledge of security officials so as to not leave it unattended in my vehicle in the parking lot. In retrospect, I should not have done this.”
The trade and export development minister said he was only in the building for about 10 minutes to grab some work before leaving again. He said he didn’t even recall the incident, and couldn’t even remember the specific year, but it came back to him after conversations with his family.
Harrison apologized for what he called a “lapse in judgment” and for not informing Premier Scott Moe. He added that Moe has accepted his resignation as Government House Leader.
The Saskatchewan NDP has called for an independent investigation into Weekes’ allegations, but Moe has argued that Weekes was raising the issues due to a case of “sour grapes” after losing a Sask. Party nomination race in December.
During his comments last week, Weekes further claimed that Harrison wanted to bring a handgun into the Legislative Building. That allegation was not addressed in Harrison’s statement.
Harrison maintained on Friday that the claims of harassment and intimidation by Weekes are false.
Sask. NDP Leader Reacts
On Friday, Sask. NDP Leader Carla Beck agreed that Harrison displayed bad judgment for bringing the rifle, but beyond that, she questioned his actions in the wake of the allegations.
Beck also said Harrison’s claim of not recalling the incident wasn’t credible.
“Either the minister lied to the premier in which case he needs to be kicked out of caucus – or the premier lied to the people of Saskatchewan,” she told reporters.
“It can be both, but it can’t be neither.”
Beck said she expects more answers from Moe and Harrison about the other allegations levied against the former Government House Leader.
“We can disagree about policy, we can disagree about a lot of things but the need for elected officials to be honest, I think, is a value that’s held by everyone,” Beck said.
Beck wants Weekes’ claims of harassment and intimidation to be investigated.
“This is serious behaviour. People expect honesty but they also expect their leaders not to act like bullies. They expect them to follow the rules,” Beck said.
When asked why Harrison didn’t address the issue last week, Beck said Harrison has a pattern of not making himself available to answer difficult questions.
“I think we’ve seen that over the last week. He continues with that pattern of behaviour,”
Beck said.
–with files from paNOW and 980 CJME’s Daniel Reech
