Kevin Weedmark says he thought he was doing a good thing when he chartered an aircraft to take local Dairy Queen owners to Saskatoon for a tour of the to Jim Pattison Children’s Hospitalm after the business had donated thousands of dollars to the hospital. “The night of Miracle Treat Day, they had mentioned that they’d love to see the hospital where their donations are used,” he said. “Because they’re very tied to their business and they had a very young infant at the time, I wanted to take them there.” He says the flights had nothing to do with his role as an MLA, and he personally covered the $8,200 cost. A second flight to a government event in Lloydminster cost Weedmark $20,000 - which he says he used his own money for. “It is a lot of money to me. My wife and I discussed whether we could afford to do that, and because we really hadn’t taken a holiday this year other than taking four days to see my daughter, we decided that I could pay for that trip,” he said. The NDP had taken issue with Weedmark’s choice of personal transportation. They’re also questioning whether rules were broken when southeast Saskatchewan MLA’s placed ads in the World Spectator newspaper, which Weedmark owns. “I approached the Conflict of Interest Commissioner and I asked him about it. He sent me to the Speaker and the Speaker came up with some guidelines on conditions, where I can accept advertising from some of my fellow MLA’s,” Weedmark said. The NDP doesn’t believe the advertising should have been allowed, and is seeking further advice. As for future charter flights, Weedmark says he plans to stick to driving.
