An email obtained by Speaker Randy Weekes and sent to CBC is shedding more light on an incident involving cabinet minister Jeremy Harrison bringing a gun into the legislature eight years ago.
Last week, Harrison resigned as government House leader for failing to tell Premier Scott Moe he brought a firearm into the legislature.
Harrison told media he did not initially recall the incident when it was raised in the house by Weekes on May 16. He said after discussing it with family his memory was jogged but by that time he had already told Moe the allegations made by Weekes were “unequivocally false.”
On Wednesday, Weekes shared an email from April 28, 2016, with the sender and recipient and some names blacked out. The bottom of the email appears to show it was sent by the acting sergeant-at-arms.
The email describes how Harrison walked into the building and past security while holding what appeared to be a gun case and dressed in hunting camouflage.
“Today just before noon (name redacted) noticed a man in camouflage clothing carrying a gun case walking towards the building. (Name redacted) did not recognize the person,” the email said.
The email said the security officer was close to alerting staff on his radio that there was a gun. The officer said “sir” and the person with the gun looked up, and the security officer saw that it was Harrison.
“Harrison walked past the kiosk carrying his gun case and disappeared around the corner. The gun itself was not visible, however, it was obvious it was a gun case,” the email said.
The acting sergeant-at-arms listed four concerns to the email recipient:
- Security should be advised in advance even if it is an MLA, so it can react or provide advice.
- Security should have the option of holding the gun securely until the person leaves.
- There is no need for someone to possess a gun in the building.
- Harrison was wearing a hat and camouflage making him not easily recognizable.
The acting sergeant-at-arms said that Harrison likely felt he could not leave the gun in his vehicle but that he handled the situation “poorly.”
“I am also aware that he is going coyote hunting with the Speaker today. I have no problem approaching Mr. Harrison myself about this behaviour, however, I think that this may be better handled at your level.”
In April 2016, Dan D’Autremont was the Speaker. The House was not sitting at the time of the incident because the Saskatchewan Party had just won the election on April 4.
In an interview with CBC on Monday, Harrison was asked when the incident occurred and said “about a decade ago.”
A Saskatchewan cabinet minister who initially told the premier he didn’t bring a long gun into the legislature, only to reverse himself days later, says talks with family members helped jog his memory. Jeremy Harrison spoke with CBC Monday.
He was also asked what gun he was carrying and what he was hunting that day.
“It was a long gun. My recollection, the clearest part is really walking past the security kiosk. There were a number of times I went hunting from Regina. I haven’t really gone hunting from Regina since then.
“So I know that’s what the time frame was hunting for different things, different times, birds primarily. I don’t recollect precisely what it was, but if it was bird hunting, it would have been a shotgun and properly cased.”
Harrison said he was sorry for the incident.
“This was a bad error in judgment, wasn’t against the rules at the time, but look, I should not have done it and I’ve taken accountability for that.”
He said he brought the firearm into the building for safety reasons.
“Firearm safety is a hugely important part of my life. I’m an avid hunter, have been since I’ve been a child with my father and grandfather and my children as well.
“One of the tenets of firearm safety is you don’t leave a firearm unattended in the back of your vehicle. And whether it’s to go into a friend’s house for 20 minutes on the way out of town, you bring your firearm into the residence because it can’t get stolen there,” Harrison said Monday.
“I should never have come by the building. That was the mistake.”
NDP calls for Harrison to be ousted from cabinet, caucus
Opposition Leader Carla Beck said Wednesday Premier Scott Moe should remove Harrison from cabinet and government caucus.
In his resignation statement on May 23, Harrison said, “Approximately a decade ago, I was going hunting on a weekend. I stopped at the Legislative Building for a short period of time and brought a properly cased long gun into the building with the knowledge of security officials so as to not leave it unattended in my vehicle in the parking lot. In retrospect, I should not have done this.”
Beck said Harrison’s statement is inconsistent with what was contained in the 2016 email. She said the email shows Harrison at the building on a Thursday and that security officials had “no prior knowledge” of his actions.
An email obtained by Speaker Randy Weekes and sent to CBC is shedding more light on an incident involving cabinet minister Jeremy Harrison bringing a gun into the legislature eight years ago. Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck spoke with media Wednesday about the memo.
“This is a minister who has lied and who has shown terrible judgment and instead of being forthright with the people of this province has put on a fabrication — lied in writing and lied on camera,” Beck said.
“The premier simply, I do not think has a choice here. This is a question of his leadership and this minister needs to be gone both from cabinet and from caucus.”
In response, a spokesperson for the government said Harrison’s comments in interviews stand.
“The minister said security was aware that he entered the building with a properly cased gun, which is confirmed in the email. Further, he acknowledged that he did not remember the exact timing of this event, only that he believed it to be about a decade ago and thought it was on a weekend,” the statement said.