The Saskatchewan government has apologized and former Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association chair Jim Wickett has returned his Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal after it was learned Wickett had pleaded guilty to domestic violence.
Wickett of Rosetown, Sask., received the medal in December.
Provincial agriculture minister David Marit said last week he asked Wickett to return the medal after recently learning of the charges. The incident occurred in 2022 and was first reported by Global News. That report said court documents showed Wicket had been charged with assaulting his wife and possessing a firearm without a licence, and that he pleaded guilty in February.
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Marit said it’s inappropriate for anyone convicted of domestic abuse to be honoured with a medal.
“I took immediate action, reached out to the protocol office,” Marit told reporters April 17.
He said he was unaware of the charges when he approved a list of people who should be recognized for their contributions to agriculture.
“Obviously I’m very apologetic to victims and survivors of domestic abuse,” he said.
“It has no place in society, and our government does everything we can to eliminate domestic abuse.”
The rates of domestic violence in rural Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta are more than twice that of urban areas, according to Statistics Canada.
Data from 2020 shows police-reported intimate partner violence in rural Saskatchewan is three times higher than urban areas, per 100,000 population, and the highest in the country except for the three northern territories.
This incident comes after former agriculture minister Lyle Stewart invited Colin Thatcher, convicted of killing his wife, to the provincial throne speech last fall. He later apologized, calling that an error in judgment, and has since resigned his seat for health reasons.
The opposition NDP said the government clearly needs to take the issue more seriously, and perhaps a stronger vetting process is needed.
Marit said that might be so, but about 7,000 people are getting the medals and that could hinder the process.
He said he found it difficult to hear about the incident.
“You put names forward of people that you feel are deserving of an award, and when something like this happens it obviously tugs at your heart. It does,” he said.
