After promising to months ago, the Sask. Party Minister of Social Services has yet to respond to two freedom of information requests issued by the Official Opposition.
Sask. NDP MLA Meara Conway says in late October, the NDP invited an elderly woman, Evelyn Harper, to the legislature to tell her story of being evicted from a government care home. She moved into Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal’s Sunrise Motel temporarily and stayed there from October 27 until November 10.
Conway states that news broke that Grewal’s motel twice hiked rates for Harper’s stay, once Minister of Social Services Gene Makowsky offered to pick up the bill. According to the NDP, social services requisition forms show Harper paid $132 for the first night of her stay, and by the end of her stay, she was being charged $200.
“After Makowsky ducked and dodged question after question in the House, we submitted two freedom of information requests to Makowsky’s office on December 12, 2023,” she recalled.
The requests asked for a list of hotels used by social services, and for the Ministry’s policy on hotel stays, neither of which could be provided.
“On the deadline set by law, Makowsky’s office formally responded by saying they could not provide any records. Makowsky’s office claimed they did not have enough time to investigate, and they’ve kicked the can, now, down the road,” stated Conway. “Minister Makowsky was asked to provide information about his policy 12 times during the last legislative sitting. He promised five times, on the record, to investigate and report back to the house.”
“I just don’t buy that Minister Makowsky, with the full backing of the Civil Service, needs ten weeks to figure out what his hotel pricing policy is, and which hotels his ministry is relying on to house people,” Conway added.
Conway adds that “if Makowsky has nothing to hide, he needs to stop running out the clock.” She calls on him to deliver the information before the provincial election.
Shortly after Conway spoke out on Makowsky’s lack of transparency, he attempted to set the record straight.
Makowsky says ministry officials have been working diligently to compile the information the NDP asked for in a Freedom of Information request, and it will be released to the opposition as soon as its ready. He suspects this will be in the coming days to short weeks.
The NDP had requested two things; the Ministry’s policy on hotel stays, and a list of which hotels are used by the Ministry. The NDP claimed that both requests were refused and put off for months, however Makowsky says the information is difficult to gather.
“It’s a lot of information that’s just not at your fingertips. It’s a very large ministry, and there are certainly a lot of things going on,” Makowsky stated.
He adds that he has nothing to do with the Freedom of Information process, as that business is strictly between the requestee and the ministry, not the minister.
