REGINA, Sask. — A government MLA is saying taxpayers are not being billed for his flights on a private jet to Lloydminster and Saskatoon last month.
Opposition New Democrats had been accusing Moosomin-Montmartre MLA Kevin Weedmark of living large on the government dime by chartering a private jet on Aug. 27 for a Moosomin-Lloydminster-Saskatoon-Regina-Moosomin round trip.
But in a statement, Weedmark said he chartered the plane at his own expense.
“On the occasion the opposition is referring to, it would have been difficult to drive back and forth across the province in time for all the events I had committed to, which included an event in Lloydminster on the other side of Saskatchewan from my constituency,” said Weedmark.
“As a result, I decided to charter a plane from a local company at my own personal expense. There were no taxpayer dollars involved.”
That prompted this reaction from Opposition critic Meara Conway: "Prove it. Show the receipts."
The NDP has taken aim at the government a number of times in recent years over various alleged incidents of government spending on chartered flights, limousines or other travel.
This latest instance came to light after a staff member had posted a “day in the life” video on social media. The video, which has since been taken down, showed her travelling on the private jet to the announcements that day, as well as stopping in Saskatoon for a meal at a restaurant and shopping at Aritzia.
Conway said the plane belonged to Manitoba-based Andrews Air Ltd., with the NDP claiming the cost of the private jet would have been more than $6,000 an hour.
Conway told reporters at the legislature that she had written to Weedmark demanding he disclose the cost of the chartered jet, who paid for it, whether taxpayers were billed, whether the trip was approved in advance and in what capacity the staff member was travelling.
“Kevin Weedmark needs to explain why it was deemed necessary for a Sask. Party MLA to hopscotch across Saskatchewan aboard a private luxury jet,” Conway said. “People in this province are working incredibly hard just to keep up. And then they see a Sask. Party MLA flying around the province on a luxury private jet with his own staff, documents, high-end snacks, fine dining and shopping along the way. It sends the wrong message, and that's an understatement.”
