NDP Education Critic Carla Beck wrote the Conflict of Interest Commissioner today to request a reexamination of the Premier’s correspondence surrounding potential conflicts of interest with the WE Charity. Last week Premier Moe ignored a request to proactively disclose that correspondence.
“We’re still waiting for simple answers to simple questions about the decision to hand public dollars to Scott Moe and Justin Trudeau’s favourite well-connected charity,” said Beck. “Was the Premier forthright about the fact that he had already discussed with his Education Minister a partnership with WE months before his trip? How aggressively did Moe and Wyant advocate for this project with officials? And why this untested pilot project with a Toronto charity when the tools for promoting student well-being are right here in front of us: adequate funding, adequate support, and teachers who aren’t run off their feet?”
Beck’s letter asked Conflict of Interest Commissioner Maurice Herauf, Q.C., to review the file.
“It is unclear,” she writes, “if the Premier revealed to your predecessor that the Premier was aware that there was a potential for a future contract between the WE organization and the Government of Saskatchewan at the time when he sought his opinion. Last week, I called on the Premier to release all of his correspondence with your office to provide full transparency, and to date, he has not done so.”
The letter raises the possibility of an inquiry into a potential breach if the Premier had not been fully forthright in his earlier correspondence.
“Protecting and promoting our kids’ wellbeing is so, so important,” said Beck. “It’s too important to fob off on non-competitive contracts with Toronto charities. This government needs to get serious about doing right by Saskatchewan kids, not their famous friends.”
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