REGINA — The latest attempt by the New Democrats to oppose the Sask. Party government's coal refurbishment plan has gone down to defeat.
At a Public Accounts Committee meeting Thursday at the legislature, Saskatoon Silverspring MLA Hugh Gordon moved a motion requesting that the provincial auditor conduct a special assignment investigation to examine the increase in the cost of the government's coal refurbishment plan from $900 million to $26 billion.
That motion lost by a vote of 4-2. The vote was along straight party lines, with Sask. Party MLAs on the committee all opposed and the NDP in favour. Chair Trent Wotherspoon only votes in a tie-breaking situation and so did not cast a vote.
The NDP motion came just prior to provincial auditor Tara Clemett's appearance before the Public Accounts Committee to discuss her reports regarding the Saskatchewan Health Authority.
In his comments at the committee, Last Mountain-Touchwood MLA Travis Keisig said the committee “had no clue” this motion was coming forward and that the issue had been debated in the assembly. “I do not believe it is relevant to the purview of the committee’s work here today.”
The government has repeatedly taken issue with the NDP's contention that the cost of Sask Power's coal refurbishment would be $26 billion, saying the true capital cost is $2.6 billion. The government's plan is to extend coal power generation to 2050.
Speaking to reporters after his motion was defeated, Gordon took issue with Keisig’s remarks.
“It's exactly what this committee is for,” Gordon said. “The committee is to look into decisions that the government has made, plans that the government has made with taxpayer money to determine whether or not this is the best use of time, people, resources, and dollars.”
As for Keisig’s contention that the issue was already debated, Gordon said, “They debated it, but they weren't forthcoming in the first place about this plan.”
Gordon said this was “something that was leaked to us. These were documents that we tabled during Premier's Estimates a couple of weeks ago, that clearly was a surprise to the government. And then we had… begrudgingly, I would say… the minister admitted, yeah, well, actually, that was, that is a real document, and those numbers are accurate. Well, then what is it, right? So I disagree with Mr. Keisig on that, and I think that is exactly the right place and the right time to discuss this issue.”
Gordon also made known his thoughts that the provincial auditor was the right person to look into the costs of the plan on coal.
“If the government is confident about this plan, this $26 billion coal refurbishment plan, if they have confidence in it, they think this is the right decision, let's let an impartial expert tell us that that is a good idea,” Gordon said. “If they come back, if the provincial auditor looks into it and says, you know what, we've looked at all the options, we've looked at how this government intends to spend that money on coal refurbishment, you feel it's good value, I guess we'll put the question to rest. I don't know why they would dodge that.”
In a statement the government had this response to the NDP's motion:
"The Provincial Auditor already examines all government spending, including auditing the Crowns on an annual basis. The Government respects the Provincial Auditor's autonomy and independence to determine any specific audit plans."
