(File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

Paying the Price

Professor weighs political damage of Hargrave’s travel mistake

Jan 5, 2021 | 8:15 AM

A University of Regina professor says the wave of public outcry about the many other politicians across various provinces who travelled in breach of COVID guidance in recent weeks stacked up against Prince Albert MLA Joe Hargrave.

However, Tom McIntosh – Professor of Politics and International Studies – says while there may be short term political damage, Hargrave and the Saskatchewan Party government will recover from the controversy.

On Monday, Hargrave resigned his post as minister of highways following his pre-Christmas trip to Palm Springs, California. He had earlier labelled his visit “essential business” to finalize the sale of his holiday home there but later apologized for an “error of judgment” and he’s expected to return to P.A. this week.

The opposition NDP claimed Hargrave lied in characterizing the trip as essential business and suggested the MLA had his property listed four days after his arrival in Palm Springs. They claim Hargrave simply made an excuse for ignoring COVID travel rules and taking a Christmas holiday in the sun.

“I, like many members of the public, was annoyed that after months of the government telling us not to travel… to see suddenly a real estate deal that could have been handled at a distance become essential travel, and it just happens to become essential over the Christmas holidays,” McIntosh told paNOW.

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He added that coupled with the many other examples of politicians from all stripes in other provinces being held to account for their travel transgressions, the public interpreted the controversy as an “in your face example of do as I say not as I do.”

McIntosh figures the weekend snowballing of public outcry against the various cases of improper travel by Alberta politicians and officials – and the punishment handed out by Premier Jason Kenney and other leaders in other jurisdictions – ultimately prompted Hargrave’s cabinet resignation although he added Premier Moe “likely asked him to resign rather than willingly falling on his sword.”

The professor said opinion polls indicate the Sask. Party government already has a public relations problem in their handling of the pandemic “even before ‘Alohagate'” as he put it, but added the premier has a lot of time before facing the voters in the next election.

“Given what was happening across the country this would have kept niggling away at the government had [Hargrave] stayed in cabinet, and that’s not to say he won’t be back in cabinet before the next election.

“People do want to see that there were some consequences for what they did and they paid a price,” he said, noting the removal of cabinet roles and other responsibilities among various COVID jet-setting politicians across the nation.

With files from Nigel Maxwell

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glenn.hicks@jpbg.ca

On Twitter:@princealbertnow