Saskatchewan’s Advanced Education Minister is under fire for subletting his office to a law firm for nearly 8 years, allegedly breaking longstanding Legislature rules.

Ken Cheveldayoff has since insisted that the arrangement was beneficial for taxpayers, further stating that all Speakers of the House were aware of and endorsed the deal. This includes Randy Weekes, who on Wednesday, claimed that he did not approve of the situation and “approved steps to be taken to rectify this violation of the rules by the Legislative officer.”

Wednesday, Iris Lang, the Clerk of the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, released a statement doubling down against Weekes, stating that “all former Speakers were made aware of Mr. Cheveldayoff’s lease arrangement… No such instruction to alter Mr. Cheveldayoff’s lease arrangement was received until 2024.”

Cheveldayoff also spoke out about the controversy Wednesday, assuring in a written statement he has “always been completely transparent about this arrangement with Legislative Assembly Services, and it was publicly disclosed every year in my disclosure statement.”

Meanwhile, the NDP calls on the Minister and the Premier for full transparency as well as a full investigation into this matter.