Huge thank you to Randy Weekes for joining Paul and I for this special episode.
Weekes is the consummate professional politician. He most definitely knows how to answer questions like one. :)
For me, the takeaway from meeting and chatting with Randy Weekes is twofold:
a) The situation in the Sask Party government’s offices in the Legislature (likely across the province) is dangerously toxic and more people will get hurt - perhaps seriously - if or when Scott Moe is returned to power over those offices.
b) I think too much in black and white.
If you’re laughing at that last one, so am I. We both know it’s true lol.
We touched on a broad range of subjects but the one that stands out for me was around leadership. Weekes sat in the Sask Party caucus under the leadership of Elwin Hermanson, Brad Wall and Scott Moe, so I asked him whether what we’re seeing today would have happened under the previous leader or leaders.
I’ll let you hear his answer for yourself.
Before you listen, if you haven’t already you should read the full text of the statement Weekes released to media before joining our show:
“Before the people of Saskatchewan go to the polls on Oct.28th, I feel they should know about the racist policies and attitudes of the Saskatchewan Party government and some of their MLAs.
1.Racist Policies
As part of a new "preferred nation" project, the province reserved Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program (SINP) spots for people from specific countries of origin. Seven of the eight preferred nations are European: Czechia, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine.
The Minister responsible for the SINP Jeremy Harrison told his staff “we want a certain type of Immigrant.” What he meant was excluding people from Africa, Philippines, Latin countries and many others from around the world.
Saskatchewan immigration lawyer Chris Veeman said: “It just sort of sends the message that these are the places that the province is interested in and if you’re not from those places, maybe you’re not the No. 1 priority of the government. I feel it’s unjust, unfair, to be honest. Because I feel everyone deserves their own chance.”
2. Racist MLAs:
On April 24th, 2023, a young Black woman employed in the Saskatchewan Party caucus office experienced a racist incident with government caucus chair David Buckingham, who was speaking with the Government Whip Greg Ottenbreit in a Legislature hallway. The conversation topic included the repeated use of the “N” word, which was overheard by the Black staffer from her office nearby. Horrified by what she heard, she complained to the government caucus Chief of Staff Angela Currie.
Buckingham and Ottenbreit ambushed the staffer to apologize, at which the young woman locked herself in her office because she was traumatized. When she eventually opened her door, she listened without comment. She also reported the incident to human resources.
Buckingham and Ottenbreit were told to take sensitivity training. Both remained in positions of authority. The staffer was forced to continue working them in caucus.
After this incident her job description changed with her responsibilities downgraded. Currie began bullying her, accusing her of not being a "team player". Eventually the young Black staffer found employment elsewhere in the legislative building. Currie told the staffer in a very offensive tone she was no longer needed and to get out of the caucus office, forcing her to leave without any of her personal belongings. The incident was reported to government deputy caucus chair Ken Francis. When confronted with this information, Currie denied the incident.
The young woman remains in counselling today because of the abuse.
Other racist incidents include the continued racist comments made to a visible minority in the Saskatchewan Party caucus by the member from Kindersley Ken Francis. I spoke to the targeted MLA about how he felt about the racist comments directed at him. Inititally he shrugged them off, but over time he shared with me his concerns about the racism directed at him.
Another example that comes to mind again involves Sask Party MLA Greg Ottenbreit. He'd been invited to meet with a delegation from an anti-racism group visiting Yorkton, which included a young Muslim woman wearing a hijab. Ottenbreit went on a rant in front of this woman, complaining about her wearing of a hijab, creating discomfort for everyone in attendance. On another occasion, former Speaker Mark Docherty had invited an indigenous Elder and a Muslim Imam to bring greetings and pray at the opening of the Legislative Session. While the Imam was praying, Ottenbreit was noticably ignoring the service, pretending to be occupied with his Bible. When asked why he did that, his reply was "Because Muslims want to kill us."
I hope this information helps the people of Saskatchewan make an informed decision on election day.” - Saskatchewan Speaker Randy Weekes, October 10, 2024
