NDP presses Sask. Party for details of secret SaskTel sell-off scheme

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the Sask. Party government to fully comply with the recent ruling of the Information and Privacy Commissioner and finally release all the details of their secret SaskTel sell-off scheme.

Today the Speaker also ruled on a question of privilege submitted by Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon asking the Speaker to determine whether House Leader Jeremy Harrison misled the House when he said, “what I can reiterate, Mr. Speaker, is that there have been no formal discussions as to what a transaction may or may not look like, and there have been no formal offers.”

The Information and Privacy Commissioner's report showed that on the same day, SaskTel entered into a “Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement” and a “Joint Defence Privileged Agreement” with a third party to discuss the sale.

“We see yet again today that the people of Saskatchewan simply can’t trust the Sask. Party when it comes to the Crowns,” said NDP Finance Critic Trent Wotherspoon. “The only way the people of Saskatchewan can be assured that our Crowns are safe from further plots to sell them off is for them to come clean on exactly how close they got to selling off SaskTel. Who was at the table?”

The NDP uncovered the Sask. Party’s secret sell-off committee earlier this year and discovered that plans to sell SaskTel had progressed much further than the government has ever acknowledged.

The NDP also submitted access requests for all of the secret selloff committee minutes, all of the documents that were prepared for its meetings, and the list of Sask. Party cabinet ministers who made up its membership. The Sask. Party government blocked each request and refused to release any documents about the selloff committee.

The Information and Privacy Commissioner ruled in August that documents around the potential sale should be released to the public. The Sask. Party government has so far refused to fully comply.

“If the Premier and the Sask. Party government have nothing to hide, they’ll release these documents to the people of Saskatchewan today,” Wotherspoon said.

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