A new lawsuit filed against the Sask. Party in the Global Transportation Hub (GTH) land scandal may be the final straw in Brad Wall’s defense of his sketchy land deal.
Before buying land at a whopping $103,000 per acre, Wall’s government called a $38,000-per-acre independent appraisal of the same plot of land “unrealistic” and “incompetence.”
“Wall’s government claimed it was incompetent for an independent appraiser to set the land value as high as $38,000,” said NDP Leader Cam Broten. “But then he personally signed an order to buy it for $103,000 per acre. What changed? The owners.
“Once the land was in the hands of businessmen who allegedly have Sask. Party connections, all of a sudden the strong-arm expropriation tactics stopped, and a big cheque was signed. This deal stinks worse than ever.”
The lawsuit against Wall’s government was filed Tuesday at the Court of Queen’s Bench by original landowners McNally Enterprises.
While the independent appraisal done by Colliers International for McNally Enterprises was attacked and dismissed by the Wall government, Wall alleges a different independent appraisal was the basis for the higher payment to the businessmen. He has refused to release that appraisal, even denying a request for it under freedom of information laws.
The provincial auditor is already investigating the scandal, saying that it doesn’t appear to be a normal transaction. A former Sask. Party MLA has filed a criminal complaint. Several stakeholders, including the NDP, have called for a judicial inquiry.