It’s time for Premier Wall to show accountability on the GTH fiasco

Given the results, one gets why Premier Brad Wall has no interest in taking any lessons from his predecessor Lorne Calvert on the Spudco file. Really, why would he?

But at a time when Wall ‘s popularity appears to be taking a nosedive, he should be taking stock of his handling of all matters.

After all, it’s rather evident the public isn’t buying his budget message that the service cuts and tax increases were absolutely necessary. Perhaps other matters in play are causing the public to lose faith in government.

The Lorne Calvert of the mid-2000s probably could have related, which might be why he at least attempted to show contrition on the Spudco debacle.

The NDP government broke its own policy by taking more than a 51-per-cent stake in the building of potato sheds, thus giving potential investors the impression this was a more successful entrepreneurial venture.

Far worse, the NDP kept this important little tidbit from the public for seven years until it was disclosed by the Regina LeaderPost. By keeping up the canard that this was a fair-minded private-public enterprise, the government was even able to get around its own policy of having to use union labour to build the three sheds.

Cabinet scrutiny of these decisions was also invisible from a government clearly in denial.

Is this starting to sound familiar?

Admittedly, there were a few noticeable differences between Calvert’s $36-million Spudco disaster and Wall’s multimilliondollar Global Transportation Hub (GTH) fiasco.

Much of what we know about Spudco came from lawsuits filed by Judith River Farms Ltd., Coteau Hills Potato Corp., Lake Bend Potato Corp., Newbridge Potato Corp. and Mark Langefeld. (Only through these court documents did we discover the former NDP government’s deceit on key issues like the ownership.)

There yet could very likely be civil proceedings initiated by the previous owners of 204 acres eventually purchased by the GTH (at the behest of former economy minister Bill Boyd) at a cost of $103,000 an acre. There is also an RCMP investigation.

But the heavy lifting on what we know about the GTH was done by CBC reporter Geoff Leo, later confirmed by provincial auditor Judy Ferguson’s report.

Yet the focus of Wall and his cabinet has almost exclusively been a second press release from Ferguson the day of her GTH report release, suggesting the provincial auditor did not specifically find “wrongdoing.”

Yes, Wall did assign the matter to Ferguson’s office ... coincidentally, just prior to last year’s spring election campaign.

However, since last June Wall has clearly demeaned Ferguson’s report by instead quoting that second press release (why she felt obligated to issue that second press release remains a mystery) that holds no relevance to her primary finding that GTH land was purchased “at a significantly higher price and not in a fiscally responsible matter.”

Contrast this with what Calvert eventually did on the Spudco file ... and, more importantly, what he said when confronted with fair-minded findings.

By appointing his then-deputy minister Dan Perrins — a career civil servant who served a variety of previous administrations — Calvert provided some sense of accountability on Spudco.

“For these mistakes, this government must be held accountable,” Calvert told reporters the day Perrins’s report was released. “As leader of government, I accept responsibility.”

When it comes to the GTH, what we’ve mostly seen from Wall is denials ... and his Sask. Party MLAs’ eagerness to block GTH witnesses from appearing before legislative committees.

Sure, one can be critical of Calvert for many things, including simply moving former Spudco minister Eldon Lautermilch — singled out by Perrins for misleading the public on Spudco’s public ownership — to another cabinet role.

But Wall did the same thing with Boyd, until he was allowed to resign last August with accolades.

Calvert’s handling of Spudco wasn’t perfect, but he did show more contrition than Wall has on the GTH.

Wall may now be paying a price for that lack of contrition.