REGINA – Saskatchewan’s auditor says an investigation into a government land deal is a priority, but Judy Ferguson says she doesn’t know when she’ll be able to report the findings.
Ferguson says she’s seeking legal advice on whether she can report publicly during a provincial election. Voters head to the polls April 4 and the campaign would start at least 28 days earlier, so there’s a narrow window to get the work done.
“We’re fully cognizant that the clock is ticking and we’re actively working on this,” Ferguson said Wednesday.
Ferguson appeared before a legislative committee where the Opposition NDP tried to pass a motion that it says would give the auditor a broader mandate.
READ MORE: Opposition NDP wants broader auditor mandate to review government land deal
The motion _ which was rejected by the governing Saskatchewan Party majority _ called for the auditor to look into whether the government misused public funds in the land deal and to file at least an interim report before the vote.
New Democrat Trent Wotherspoon, who tabled the motion, said it was to show support for the auditor. He was disappointed that it was
rejected.
“Let’s be frank here, this motion and amendment could read one heck of a lot uglier than it does if we choose to put in the statement the facts of the matter and the question around this actual land deal,” said Wotherspoon.
But Saskatchewan Party member Larry Doke accused Wotherspoon of grandstanding before an election.
“We asked the auditor point blank, do you have enough scope, do you have enough latitude? She said yes. When we asked about an interim report, she said we don’t do an interim report. We do a complete report and then we will report (publicly),” Doke told reporters after the meeting.
Doke said the public accounts committee looks at the auditor’s reports all year long without a motion telling the auditor what to do.
He said committee members don’t “need to be sticking their nose, so to speak, into this.”
The issue relates to a deal that saw the Global Transportation Hub (GTH) _ a Crown corporation _ buy 204 acres of land west of
Regina.
The GTH bought the land last year for $103,000 per acre, which the NDP says was three times the appraised value and far higher than what other land owners in the region received under threat of expropriation. The GTH then sold 58 acres of the same land to the Ministry of Highways for $50,000 per acre.
Premier Brad Wall has said that his government did everything correctly.
Wall requested Monday that the auditor examine whether the government followed proper procedures and received appropriate value for the land.
Here is the letter from Provincial Auditor Judy Ferguson, tabled at the public accounts committee meeting at the legislature on Wednesday.
Saskatchewan auditor says government land deal investigation a priority