Internal email on GTH deals ‘alarming’: NDP

Document shows province trying to justify high cost, says Opposition leader

Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP leader Nicole Sarauer says an email related to the ongoing Global Transportation Hub (GTH) land deals is “alarming.”

The GTH land deals are the source of an ongoing controversy for the Saskatchewan Party government.

Those deals saw two Sask. Party-tied businessmen buy land and then sell it at a significant profit to the government-owned GTH.

Sarauer says a November 2013 email shows the premier’s office and other senior government officials “were all in communication trying to retroactively find justification for a valuation that they had already decided on prior.”

Provincial auditor Judy Ferguson ruled in 2016 that taxpayers paid too much in the $21-million purchase two years earlier of 204 acres of land involved in the deals.

For nearly two years, the government and Premier Brad Wall’s office contended they had to pay more money because the person they were buying the land from — Regina businessman Anthony Marquart — was in possession of a high value appraisal.

The 2013 email was sent to then economy minister Bill Boyd, the premier’s chief of staff Joe Donlevy and another senior civil servant.

It was from senior government adviser Laurie Pushor and included an email attachment from Marquart referencing his own appraisal.

“While I understand that there will be push back in terms of appraisal methodologies it does mean that we have some information that makes a case for our position,” wrote Pushor. “I intend to call Anthony tomorrow and see where we go from there,” he added.

Sarauer said it is clear based on the email and other information about the GTH that the Sask. Party government was not working for Saskatchewan people when they were trying to justify paying “an extremely high price for this land.”

“They should have been finding the best value and the best price for Saskatchewan people, considering this is Saskatchewan taxpayer dollars that we’re talking about here,” she said.

In an emailed response, Wall’s chief of operations Kathy Young said the email was provided to the

The purchase price of this land had to be negotiated and this was all happening at a time of rapidly escalating land values.

auditor and “would have been considered as part of her audit.”

“I don’t agree with the NDP’s characterization of this email that individuals in government wanted to pay more than necessary for this land,” Young said. “As noted in the provincial auditor’s report, the GTH does not have the power to expropriate land, so the purchase price of this land had to be negotiated and this was all happening at a time of rapidly escalating land values.”

Sarauer repeated the NDP’s long-standing call for a public inquiry into the matter.

“We know that a significantly higher dollar value was paid for this land than should have been paid for this land. We still don’t know why, and Saskatchewan people deserve to know why,” she said.