Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has denied allegation against Government House Leader Jeremy Harrison by the Speaker that Mr. Harrison had harassed him and may have brought a gun into the legislature.
“I have been informed they are all unequivocally false,” Mr. Moe said during a press conference on May 17. “I don’t quite understand where the concerns are coming from. I don’t discount that maybe the Speaker does have concerns.”
In his final speech in the legislature on May 16, Speaker Randy Weekes accused Mr. Harrison of harassment and intimidation.
Mr. Weekes said Mr. Harrison had an “obsession” with guns, and had expressed an interest in getting permission to carry a handgun into the legislative assembly.
“My experience with the Government House Leader includes threatening gestures whenever I rule against him in the Assembly. He will start yelling at me and standing up and flashing his suit jacket. As the gestures and behaviour became more aggressive, I worried that he might be carrying a handgun,” he said.
Mr. Moe said Mr. Harrison told him he had never flashed his jacket at the Speaker to imply was carrying a concealed weapon.
Mr. Weekes also alleged there had been a report by a former special constable after Mr. Harrison “flaunted the rules” about weapons and brought a hunting rifle into the legislative building.
“Weapons like these can be easily converted to more than four shots,” he said.
He also claims he was attacked by Reg Downs, an adviser to Premier Moe, saying Mr. Downs “lunged at me, nearly hitting me, and stamped his feet very aggressively.”
“This was not the first time I was threatened like this,” he said. “Another MLA rushed me at a party function and came very close to head-butting me.”
Mr. Moe said he didn’t think the text messages were of a harassing nature.
“I can’t speak for what the Speaker is feeling, what the Speaker is thinking,” he said.
“There are avenues to have these discussions that are more effective than the avenue he chose,” he added, noting it is the responsibility of the legislative security to investigate the issues raised by Mr. Weekes.
“If this is raised with the appropriate authorities and they view there should be an investigation, they would make that decision,” he said. “Not the premier, not anyone else.”
Mr. Moe said he thought Mr. Weekes, who is from the governing Saskatchewan Party, was a “sore loser” after losing the party nomination last December.
