For immediate release: May 13, 2025
Motion Introduced At Public Accounts Attempted To Provide Accountability For Taxpayers Stiffed With $7M Bill In Wake Of Sask. Party Political Game
The Sask. Party is again ducking accountability for a fiasco involving the Global Transportation Hub (GTH) and a much-needed second Costco for Regina, a mess that will cost taxpayers nearly $7 million.
Tuesday morning, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister Responsible for the GTH Hugh Gordon introduced a motion at Public Accounts calling for a special Provincial Auditor investigation of the fiasco; however, the Sask. Party used its majority on the committee to block the motion.
“Another day and more Sask. Party MLAs getting involved in covering up this mess,” Gordon said after the vote. “If there was nothing to hide, they would welcome the investigation to clear the air. Instead, the only thing that’s clear is the Sask. Party doesn’t want the people of Regina to know why they’re getting stiffed with a $7-million bill.”
The Sask. Party’s Global Transportation Hub (GTH) tried to lure Costco away from the City’s Westerra neighbourhood, forcing Regina City Council to step in with a $6.78 million incentive to keep the project on track.
Effectively, the Sask. Party’s intervention prompted a bidding war with the city that it didn’t want. On four occasions Monday, Sask. Party Minister Dave Marit was called on to apologize for the fiasco, but he refused. Later, Marit ducked a scrum with reporters, instead ordering GTH CEO Daniel Hersche to take the fall.
“No accountability from the Minister and a giant waste of money,” Gordon said. “The people of Regina — and all of Saskatchewan, for that matter — deserve so much better.
“They deserve a government that’s focused on the future and getting the best value for every dollar to address real issues, not yet another costly attempt to prop up the failed GTH.”
Gordon’s motion reads as follows:
“That the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, pursuant to subsection 16(1) of The Provincial Auditor Act, requests that the Provincial Auditor perform a special assignment investigation to examine the actions, procedures, policies, and expenditures of the Global Transportation Hub and its recent attempt to negotiate a deal for the construction of a Costco store near Regina.”
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