The opposition New Democrats are demanding even harsher punishment against the Sask Party’s Jeremy Harrison after he admitted on Friday that he brought a long gun to the legislative assembly about a decade ago.
Premier Scott Moe has accepted Harrison‘s resignation as Government House Leader, after he admitted to an incident a decade earlier when he brought a long gun into the legislature in advance of a hunting trip. Harrison has called it a lapse in judgement.
The resignation comes following the bombshell accusations by Speaker Randy Weekes in the Legislature last week about Harrison bringing a gun to the legislature building. The following day, Premier Moe said to reporters he had been informed by the minister that the allegations were “unequivocally false.”
But on Friday, after Harrison released a statement in which he admitted to bringing a gun to the Legislature, Opposition Leader Carla Beck called for even further punishment, saying either Moe or Harrison had lied to Saskatchewan people about whether the incident had happened.
“‘Unequivocally false’ is Premier Scott Moe’s response to allegations that one of his ministers brought a gun into the legislature, just a week ago. It’s now clear that Premier Scott Moe lied to the people of Saskatchewan — either that, or his minister lied to the people of Saskatchewan and if that’s the case, that minister needs to be booted from caucus.
“Saskatchewan people expect that their leaders will live up to the values that we hold. Honesty is important and people expect that their leaders will be honest.
“After 17 years of the government that has occupied office in that building behind me, it’s clear that this government has not been that. And they’re still not being straight with the people of Saskatchewan. It’s time for change. Now, Saskatchewan people deserve answers and they certainly deserve better than this. The Premier needs to be straight with the people of Saskatchewan. He needs to face reporters and he needs to answer some basic questions like who knew what, when.”
Beck called it a “question of leadership,” and said the government “couldn’t be trusted to do the right thing and hold themselves accountable.”
The opposition leader also said to reporters that “there will be more to come.”
“I expect that the minister and the Premier should be answering questions on this. There is certainly more questions and answers and we got one answer, but there’s more, they were more allegations and perhaps other other consequences, but right now… they have admitted there was a lie I don’t and, if the minister lied to the Premier, as a leader I would expect him to be kicking him out of the caucus.”
