Sask NDP is demanding a formal apology from Minister Dave Marit, accusing the Sask Party government of wasting nearly $7 million in taxpayer money in a failed attempt to shift a new Costco location to the Global Transportation Hub (GTH), just outside Regina city limits.Sask NDP Municipal Affairs Critic Jared Clarke said the Sask Party sparked a needless bidding war with Regina City Council that ultimately forced the city to spend $6.9 million to keep Costco in its originally planned location in the Westerra neighbourhood.City council had been in talks to place Regina’s second Costco in Westerra when the province, through the GTH, attempted to lure the retailer away with a more attractive offer. The city later criticized the province for pitting governments against each other at taxpayers expense.“The Sask Party should be ashamed of itself for risking Costco and wasting taxpayer dollars,” said Clarke. “Clearly there are no bounds to the lengths the Sask Party will go to rescue the GTH boondoggle.”.Clarke is calling on Marit, the minister responsible for the GTH, to apologize in the Legislature when it resumes Monday. He warned that if the minister refuses, it will show “just how little the Sask Party cares about the very people that elected them.”The GTH has faced controversy for years. When the transportation hub was established, developers with Sask Party connections made large profits from land deals. Former cabinet minister Bill Boyd oversaw the project, and the Provincial Auditor later found the government had failed to follow proper procedures when acquiring land for the GTH and the Regina Bypass.In 2019, the Sask Party rejected NDP calls for an independent inquiry into the GTH land deals and blocked efforts to bring key witnesses before legislative committees.Clarke said this latest episode proves the Sask Party continues to put political interests ahead of the public good.
