2 In 3 Sask Party MLAs Own More Than One Home

Housing crisis? What housing crisis?

You’re going to be hearing more about the Sask Party’s handling of the Saskatchewan public’s real estate portfolio in the coming days (I hope), so I think it’s only fitting that we first have a look at how Sask Party MLAs handle their own real estate portfolios.

First let’s be clear that the fact Saskatchewan politicians even have real estate portfolios is unethical.

That’s one of the reasons that when I saw this piece land in my inbox, written by The Orchard’s Jeremy Appel, I had to chuckle.

“While owning real estate for investment purposes while increasing numbers of people struggle to afford housing to live in is itself problematic, earning rental income is far more egregious, because it means you’re profiting off of housing precarity.” - Jeremy Appel, A quarter of Alberta MLAs moonlight as landlords, Sept 20, 2023

A quarter of Alberta MLAs moonlight as landlords

I chuckled, in part, because in Saskatchewan it’s hella more than a quarter, and because I’ve written so many of these pieces about the abundant and inappropriate ways Sask Party MLAs are personally and financially benefiting from their roles as elected officials. It’s felt like yelling at a horror movie.

Nobody hears.

Nothing changes.

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However as Appel pointed out, Canadian independent journalism non-profit The Maple has put together a database of both federal and provincial elected representatives who are invested in real estate. I think it’s worth sharing because I have a lot of respect for organizations that do this kind of work, which used to be a core function of the mainstream media.

Keep in mind that in Saskatchewan, one of, if not the top revenue generators for the mainstream media is the Sask Party, which unilaterally controls the advertising purchases of the Government of Saskatchewan, all Crown corporations and arms-length agencies, as well as those of their own political party. With the exception of that last one, all the money the Sask Party is pumping into newsrooms belongs to you.

In an upcoming post we’re going to take a look at how the Sask Party hides how many of your tax dollars Scooter et al are spending on highly-partisan advertising - and with which media outlets those dollars are being spent.

Anyway, The Maple did the work on politicians and landlords and for Saskatchewan, mainly got it right. Because I’ve been reading Saskatchewan MLAs’ conflict of interest reports for a decade, however, I think I can add more context. I promise you that the number of Sask Party MLAs with “real estate involvement” is a hell of a lot higher than 54%, which is already bad enough.

https://www.landlordmps.ca/province-analysis

What the Maple did determine early is that there is no care, consideration or consistency in how Saskatchewan MLAs complete conflict of interest reports.

Again, I think it bears repeating why the fact so many Sask Party MLAs - including cabinet ministers and the premier - are property barons, is a problem.

Conflict of Interest

A Sask Party MLA who owns rental properties will face conflicts of interest when making decisions or enacting policies that could impact the housing market or tenants' rights. Their personal financial interests will unduly influence their decisions, compromising the integrity of the electoral process.

See: Don Morgan’s influence over the Saskatchewan Asbestos Registry, which he fought hard against including privately-owned public buildings - of which Morgan owns a stack.

Unfair Advantage

Sask Party MLAs can use their position to gain preferential treatment for their properties and do access information that benefits real estate investments.

See: The GTH.

Perception of Exploitation

The perception of a Sask Party MLA profiting from the housing crisis or taking advantage of Saskatchewan tenants' vulnerabilities is exploitative and contradictory to the principles of public service and ensuring the welfare of constituents.

See: Cabinet decision to force Saskatchewan landlords who rent to vulnerable residents (I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest no Sask Party MLA is renting to a welfare recipient, because that would be extra heinous, even for these clowns) to face the disadvantage of collecting the monthly payment directly from the tenant, instead of via direct deposit.

Divided Focus

Owning multiple properties requires significant time, attention, and energy, diverting an elected official's focus and compromising their ability to fulfill their duties effectively.

See: Name one Sask Party MLA who has demonstrated they have the ability to fulfill their duties effectively. I’ll wait.

Now let’s look at how Saskatchewan MLAs are supposed to fill out their conflict of interest report. We’ll use perennial Sask Party backbencher Daryl Harrison’s 2022 14-pg form as an example.