REGINA – Eleven more Progressive Conservative former and sitting politicians in Saskatchewan face fraud charges.
The charges stem from an RCMP investigation into use of the PC caucus fund during the second term of the Grant Devine government, between 1987 and 1991. Former caucus worker John Scraba and former cabinet minister Lorne McLaren face trials this year on charges arising from the same investigation.
Sitting PC MLAs John Britton of Unity, Bill Neudorf of Hague and Harold Martens of Swift Current held a press conference before the RCMP announced the new charges. Neudorf said the MLAs would give up their caucus critic portfolios until the legal matters are settled. All three previously announced they would not run for re-election.
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Neudorf said he was frustrated because he could not speak about the details of the charge against him and asked the public to wait for a trial before deciding if he was guilty or not.
The other people charged and named by the RCMP are Harry Baker of Saskatoon, John Gerich of Blaine Lake, Grant Hodgins of Melfort, Michael Hopfner of Lashburn, Lorne Kopelchuk of Canora and Sherwin Petersen of Rose Valley. Two have yet to be named.
Most of the fraud charges involve items and cash worth less than $5,000.
Connected to election?
While Neudorf would not speculate on the timing of the charges – a provincial election is expected to be called within weeks – Martens suggested there could be a connection between the laying of the charges and the election.
Devine, who was premier at the time the fraud allegedly happened, said the wide-ranging charges suggest a “large witch hunt” and are “very, very unfair to a large number of very good people who have built up substantial and solid reputations.”
PC MLA Rick Swenson said PC MLAs have been charged for allegedly misusing their communications allowances, which are overseen by a legislative committee, while NDP MLAs have not been prosecuted when they have been found to have incorrectly used theirs.
Justice minister Bob Mitchell said there hadn’t been any political interference in the RCMP investigation or in the decision to lay charges. And he said the legislative committee had no say over whether someone would or would not be charged.
Devine said: “Don’t ever even think that they (NDP) are above strategic defamation, political defamation of the PCs – that’s a given.”
