SASKATOON, Sask. — Saskatchewan’s highways minister, facing Opposition calls to resign for what he has called a personal business trip to California, is apologizing for “an error in judgement.”
Joe Hargrave confirmed Wednesday he has been in Palm Springs since Dec. 22 to sell a personal property and move items back to Saskatchewan . On Thursday, NDP Leader Ryan Meili said it’s unfair for ministers to travel when the government is asking residents to avoid all non-essential trips to help contain COVID-19.
“This isn’t someone who’s fit for the job he’s in,” said Meili, adding Premier Scott Moe should ask Hargrave to step aside.
The government released a statement from Hargrave roughly two hours later on Thursday.
“In discussions with the Premier, I realize that my decision to travel was an error in judgement at a time when so many people have had to make sacrifices during the pandemic,” said Hargrave. “I apologize for this error in judgement, and am returning to Canada as soon as my self-isolation period is over in California on January 5th.”
The NDP’s deputy leader, Nicole Sarauer, also called for Hargrave to step down from his role as minister.
“It’s nothing short of disgusting, frankly, to see a minister who thinks that this is acceptable,” said Sarauer. “We haven’t heard anything in terms of any sort of reasonable or credible explanation for why he went to California, and nothing in the way of a public apology for disregarding the sacrifices that people of the province have made.”
Sarauer said it’s misleading to cast a home sale as a necessary business trip, even if a personal one.
She said Moe is also responsible, since he was aware of Hargrave’s trip. The NDP now has a list of questions it believes Moe and Hargrave should answer, like whether there were other family members on the trip, why he didn’t handle the sale remotely, and whether he has observed quarantine while in Palm Springs.
While Moe was aware of the trip, he was quoted in the government statement agreeing, now, with Hargrave’s view that it was an error in judgment.
The statement said that Hargrave was on the trip with his wife, who has a stake in the property. The couple were finalizing the sale, retrieving belongings and driving them back to Saskatchewan. It said they have followed all public health orders while in California.
On Thursday, Ontario’s finance minister resigned from his position after widespread outcry for a vacation he took to the Caribbean over the holidays. Meili didn’t see much difference between that case and Hargrave’s travels, even if it involved a financial matter.
“It seems pretty convenient that the financial matter happened in a warm part of the world during vacation season,” said Meili.
Hargrave has said he will follow all public-health guidelines, including isolating for 14 days upon return to his home in Prince Albert.
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