RCMP has 'extensive' interview with Brad Wall on GTH land deal
Wall says he wants to let police complete probe before considering an inquiry
Premier Brad Wall has revealed he went through a "very thorough" interview with the RCMP in connection with the Global Transportation Hub land deal.
He told reporters Wednesday about his meeting with police earlier in the summer. He did not have a lawyer present for the interview, he said.
"I would say it was extensive," Wall said.
The interview was related to an investigation into a series of land transactions that ended with the government buying a parcel of land for an interchange at the Global Transportation Hub, west of Regina.
The province bought 204 acres of land for a price of about $21 million.
The provincial auditor found the government overpaid for the parcel of land. Now, the RCMP is doing its own investigation.
Wall would not disclose where the interview with the RCMP took place, but said it wasn't at the Legislative Building.
Wall talks next steps
He said that once the RCMP is done its work, the province could "take the next step, if there is to be one."
The next step might mean government officials taking questions under oath at committee, he said, something he was opposed to in the past.
"I will rule nothing out because I also want the public to have much more confidence about what happened here than they do and I know they have a lot of questions," Wall said. "I want all of the answers on the table to the satisfaction of the people whom I serve, whom we all serve."
"But we're going to let the RCMP do their work."
When asked about whether he would launch a public inquiry now, Wall said the Ministry of Justice has advised the province not to start a public inquiry while the RCMP is investigating.
Wall said he was told by others that Lori Pushor, senior advisor to former Minister of Economy Bill Boyd, believed that the ministry would have to pay more than some appraisals suggested the land was worth in order to buy the property.
He said the provincial government didn't want to pay more, but felt it had to in order to strike the deal.
"All I know is that the final price came in lower than we authorized and we're selling the land for much, much, much more," Wall said.
Anthony Marquart, a Regina-based businessman, made $5 million from the GTH's purchase of the land.
Clarifications
- A previous version of this story stated that Laurie Pushor had told Brad Wall that he believed the ministry would have to pay more for the land that some appraisals suggested the land was worth. In fact, Brad Wall told reporters Wednesday that others told him of Pushor's belief.Sep 07, 2017 9:59 AM CT
With files from Stefani Langenegger