Sign up for the larongeNOW newsletter
(Martin Martinson/paNOW Staff) 
government inquiry

NDP wants Pinehouse report made public after media exposé

Apr 4, 2019 | 5:07 PM

The opposition New Democrats are making political hay of the exposé by a Saskatchewan newspaper of an initial inspection report ordered by government on the Village of Pinehouse’s operations and finances.

The NDP says the publication of the report’s contents by the news outlet leaves many unanswered questions and creates speculation because the government is not releasing the document.

Parts of the inspection report by Neil Robertson, which was completed last month, were obtained and then published Thursday by the Saskatoon StarPhoenix newspaper. However, the government said it would not make the report public until a deeper inquiry by Robertson into the affairs at Pinehouse were concluded.

“We want this report to be made public,” NDP ethics critic David Forbes told paNOW. “We want to make sure when the government invests that kind of money that it’s credible and people think they’re getting full access, that nothing is being held back.”

“It’s not fair …it leads to even more questions” – sDavid Forbes, NDP ethics critic

Forbes suggested when a report like this is not made available to the public it’s impossible to know if the whole picture is being reflected.

“It leads to all sorts of questions that the government is holding back the Robertson report. Some people [now] have access to it, and it’s not fair, and it leads to even more questions,” he said.

Forbes also called on the Minister of Finance Donna Harpauer to recuse herself from any cabinet discussions regarding Pinehouse because of her association with a friend and councillor there who gifted her hotel accommodations in recent years. It was later discovered those gifts were paid for by the village. The province’s conflict of interest commissioner determined Harpauer was not in a conflict of interest for accepting the gifts.

“Many people would feel it is inappropriate for her [Harpauer] to be part of those discussions [about Pinehouse] when some of the people involved are her friends,” Forbes said.

paNOW reached out to the government for a response to the media revelations regarding the Robertson report. In an emailed statement it said, in part:

“The report on the inspection into the Northern Village of Pinehouse delivered by Mr. Robertson contained a number of serious concerns regarding the operations and finances of the community.

While this inquiry is ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment on the contents or recommendations of Mr. Robertson’s inspection report, or the ongoing inquiry into the Northern Village of Pinehouse. Mr. Robertson’s inspection and inquiry reports will be publicly released upon the completion of this process,” the report said.

According to the StarPhoenix the report by Robertson recommended the government have the village’s Mayor Mike Natomagan and one of its councillors, Conrad Misponas, removed from their positions.

The newspaper claims the report cites Natomagan’s “failure to perform duties” under the provincial Local Authority Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy legislation as well as “apparent contraventions” of the Northern Municipalities Act which “support his disqualification from office.”

At issue is conflict of interest concerns around the mayor’s role with Pinehouse Business North, a village-controlled organization, for which he earned $86,500 as president and chair. That’s in addition to his salary as mayor.

Misponas, who is also board chairman of Pinehouse Housing Corporation, earns $80,000 a year for this position, in addition to his councillor salary.

The expanded Robertson inquiry is underway following his initial inspection of the Village of Pinehouse and came as a result of years of failures or obstruction by the small municipality regarding a series of Freedom of Information requests by a group of citizens.

glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow

View Comments