A Saskatchewan minister nominated a man for a public service medal after that man had been charged with assaulting his wife and for possessing a firearm without a licence.
Jim Wickett, treasurer and secretary and former chairman of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, a farm advocacy organization, later pleaded guilty to assault.
Internal government emails, which Global News obtained using a freedom of information request, show agriculture minister David Marit nominated Wickett.
Saskatchewan’s rate of intimate partner violence was more than double the national average and highest of any province in 2021, the latest year for which Statistics Canada data is available.
An advocate for ending violence against women said Wickett’s nomination by an elected official sends the wrong message.
“When there is a blind spot around an issue like gender-based violence that the elected officials are repeatedly tripping over, it tells me that these individuals and perhaps this government in particular needs to do some soul searching,” Jo-Anne Dusel said.
Dusel is the executive director of the Provincial Association of Transitional Houses and Services of Saskatchewan (PATHS), a network of organizations including women’s shelters to help survivors of intimate partner violence.
Court documents show Wickett was charged with assaulting his wife and for possessing a firearm without a licence on June 2, 2022 in Rosetown, Sask.
The government emails show Marit’s office nominated Wickett for the medal on Oct. 26, 2022 and, later, for the medal ceremony on Dec. 13, 2022.
Photos posted to Wickett’s Facebook account the next day show him receiving the medal from Lt.-Gov. Russ Mirasty and posing with Marit in front of a portrait of the late monarch.
“Big thank you to minister David Marit for nominating me for the Queen Platinum Jubilee medal (sic) was great to receive it with some other representatives of Ag(riculture),” the caption reads.
Wickett pleaded guilty to assault on Feb. 9, 2023.
He was sentenced to nine months of probation, to attend domestic violence and anger management programming, to not contact his wife and to not possess a firearm or ammunition.
His probation order states that he will not receive a conviction, meaning he will not have a criminal record if he abides by all conditions of his conditional release.
In the Jan. 30, 2022, government release announcing the Jubilee Medal, Lt.-Gov. Mirasty is quoted as saying the medal “enables us to pay tribute to The Queen’s devotion to duty by recognizing Saskatchewan people who also made service a priority.”
The release states 7,000 medals would be given out between June 2022 and Feb. 2023 to honour significant contributions and achievements to the province.
The requirements for receiving the medals are not strict. Recipients must have been alive on Feb. 6, 2022, the anniversary of the late monarch’s ascension to the throne, they must be a Saskatchewan resident or be linked to Saskatchewan at the time they were granted the medal and they must have made a contribution to a particular community, the province or the country.
Even though the requirements are minimal, Dusel said, the government should have some vetting procedure in place for its nominees.
She said that’s especially true since the day Marit nominated Wickett – Oct. 26, 2022 – was the same day convicted wife killer Colin Thatcher attended the Speech from the Throne by invitation of another Saskatchewan Party MLA.
“You would hope… that this government would be on the lookout for other situations that echo that very high-profile incident,” Dusel said.
Premier Scott Moe initially refused to apologize for Thatcher’s attendance, saying he was a guest of MLA Lyle Stewart.
Moe eventually did offer his “unequivocal apology” five days later and stripped Stewart of his duties. Stewart issued a statement calling the invitation an “error in judgement.”
“This is a very serious issue,” Dusel said of intimate partner violence.
“And I’m not sure that our elected officials have a good grasp on all of the dynamics.”
She suggested Sask Party members should meet with survivors to learn about “the devastating impact that intimate partner and family violence has.”
And even with Saskatchewan’s rates of intimate partner violence as high as they are, she said they don’t disclose the true numbers because the statistics only include violence reported to police. She said many, many more incidents aren’t reported.
Global News contacted everyone named in this story to ask for an interview and sent them a list of detailed questions.
Morten Paulsen, a spokesperson for the Wheat Growers Association, said the organization didn’t have “anything to say that would be relevant” to the story.
Wickett was listed as secretary and treasurer on the Wheat Growers website before Global News contacted them but wasn’t afterwards.
A spokesperson for the Lt.-Gov. said he is not involved in the process of reviewing medal nominations and wouldn’t comment. They directed Global News to the province’s Protocol Office.
The chief of protocol Jason Quillam said the protocol office processes nominations and that Wickett was nominated as the former chair of a farm advocacy organization.
Wickett’s LinkedIn account showed he was the chairman of the Wheat Growers Association from Feb 2013 until March 2020.
“At the time the nomination was received and when the medal was presented, Government was not aware of any criminal proceedings involving this individual,” Quilliam said.
Quilliam said the office had requested Wickett return the medal and he has done so. He also said Wickett’s name will not be included on the list of recipients.
Global News contacted Wickett for an interview and sent him a list of detailed questions.
“In light of the personal issues that I have experienced, and regret, and in order not to cause a distraction for those who nominated me for the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, I have made the decision to return it,” he wrote.
He did not respond to any other questions.
Global News also requested an interview with Marit and presented executive council staff with a list of detailed questions – such as how well Marit knows Wickett and what messages the government sends when it awards medals to those guilty of assault.
Marit did not respond.
Executive council staff cc’ed Quilliam on the request, to whom Global News had reached out.
If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs help, resources are available. In case of an emergency, please call 911 for immediate help.
Are you or someone you know experiencing abuse? Visit the Department of Justice’s Victim Services Directory for a list of support services in your area.
Women, trans and non-binary people can find an additional list of resources here.