No charges over GTH deals: RCMP

Former landowner disappointed with outcome of investigation

REGINA As the Saskatchewan government looks to divest itself of the Global Transportation Hub, one woman is expressing disappointment after the RCMP announced no charges would be laid in relation to controversial land deals at the beleaguered site.

Ruth Eisworth said she trusted the RCMP conducted a thorough investigation, and didn’t question their findings, announced Wednesday. “If they say nothing illegal happened, I’ll take their word for it. Whether it was shady or ethical, I don’t know. I really don’t know; it’s a disappointment,” she said.

At the tail end of 2013, the GTH bought 204 acres of land for $21 million, which had been bought and sold at rising prices before that purchase took place.

Some of that land had been Eisworth’s, before she sold it to a businessman — Robert Tappauf — with business ties to Bill Boyd, who at the time was the minister responsible for the GTH. The same day Eisworth closed her deal with Tappauf, the land was sold at a $6-million profit to Regina businessman Anthony Marquart, who then flipped it to the GTH.

On Wednesday, the RCMP announced there is “not evidence to support criminal charges” in relation to those land deals, which saw the two businessmen — both connected to the governing Saskatchewan Party — profit off of the land purchases made by the government at inflated prices.

“As the investigating police agency, our responsibility was to determine if any criminal wrongdoing took place, setting aside perception and publicity and focusing on the evidence,” said Supt. Paul Saganski, federal criminal operations officer.

“As such, the evidence did not support the laying of criminal charges. Therefore, the RCMP is no longer actively investigating this matter.” Based on a review by Manitoba prosecutors, it was recommended no criminal charges be laid.

Saganski said the RCMP did not provide an opinion to Manitoba prosecutions as to whether or not the police force thought charges should be filed.

Attorney General Don Morgan again admitted Wednesday mistakes were made in how the government handled the GTH land deals — a conclusion previously reached by the provincial auditor, during the course of her investigation that found taxpayers ended up paying too much when the provincial government bought the land from Marquart.

The investigation was launched in February 2016 after RCMP received complaints about the transactions.

“Thousands of documents were examined,” Saganski said. “All of the documents the RCMP examined were freely provided to investigators by the holding parties.”

Saganski said more than 40 people — including former premier Brad Wall — were interviewed in relation to the investigation.

At times as many as 10 investigators were working the file, all of them are experienced in commercial crime and fraud-related investigations. The RCMP estimated approximately 7,500 person-hours were devoted to the file.

Police never got to the point where investigators reached the “threshold” to execute any search warrants, according to Saganski, who called the process “a highly complex and multi-layered investigation spanning two years of financial transactions and land dealings involving multiple parties.”

Speaking to reporters in Saskatoon, Morgan emphasized the thoroughness of the RCMP investigation as well as the auditor’s probe, and said, “Based on that, I don’t see that there’s any need for a further inquiry into it.”

Almost immediately after the RCMP formally made their announcement, the Opposition NDP and others (including the rightleaning Canadian Taxpayers Federation) called for additional investigation into the matter.

The NDP continued its longstanding call for a public inquiry.

During the Saskatchewan Party leadership race, several candidates — including Gord Wyant, currently the deputy premier — called for the same thing.

Speaking to reporters in September, Wyant said he didn’t believe the police investigation would answer all the questions the people of Saskatchewan have about the GTH.

“And so that’s why we need an inquiry,” Wyant said at the time.

But Morgan dismissed any notion of the provincial government taking that step now, saying there were some people who would never be satisfied and there is nothing more to come out in the public domain.

Morgan said he expects Wyant now stands with the government on the matter.

Asked about lingering questions about the land transactions — of which there are many — Morgan said the auditor, police and outside prosecutors have examined the file, and “going on with it isn’t going to help a further or better understanding of it.”

Morgan also announced Wednesday the province will now be looking to divest from the GTH — something they have been rumoured to be looking at since at least February.

The long-beleaguered GTH, located west of Regina, continues to struggle.

Total debt of the project is now at $37 million. Land sales fell short of projections by $10 million this fiscal year — a scene that has become common at the facility.

“We don’t want to have a fire sale, but we think it’s appropriate for us to look for other options for the GTH. No matter what happens with it, it will be under such intense public scrutiny it would be difficult for a private tenant or a private business to want to become a partner or move into that,” said Morgan.