‘Disgusting and vile:’ Premier stands by removal of Domotor from party

Speaking to media for the first time since Ryan Domotor was kicked out of caucus, Premier Scott Moe stood by the decision.

“What happened is disgusting and vile, to be quite frank … A government needs to be supporting women that are in a vulnerable state, not exploiting them,” said Moe.

Domotor, the Saskatchewan Party MLA for Cut Knife-Turtleford, is to make his first court appearance in January. He hasn’t entered a plea and the allegations haven’t been proven in court.

Domotor was arrested last week in a human trafficking sting and is charged with communicating for the purposes of obtaining sexual services. He was kicked out of the Sask. Party caucus and was removed from all official appointment responsibilities the next day.

Moe said police informed the government an MLA had been charged and Moe said that within a couple hours, after the government had confirmed the situation, he made the decision to kick out Domotor.

“We acted quickly … and I would say harshly — rightly so,” said Moe.

“It’s a very serious situation and it’s a situation where, I think, the actions are exactly the opposite of what any government member should be doing.”

The premier said his government is and should be moving to help vulnerable women, pointing to the recent support the Saskatchewan government has given to second-stage shelters, and changes to human trafficking legislation planned for this session.

“There really isn’t a place in the assembly for an individual that’s performing these types of actions,” said Moe.

The premier said many women in the position of being a sex worker are being exploited.

“The way to stop that from happening is for men to make a different decision and for men to not make the decision to exploit women that are quite often in a very vulnerable position,” said Moe.

Moe said Domotor is done and there isn’t any way back into caucus for him. Domotor was set to run for the Sask. Party again in Cut Knife-Turtleford in the 2024 election, but Moe said the party will find someone else to run.

In 2016, Don McMorris was charged with impaired driving at more than twice the legal limit. He pleaded guilty to the charge and resigned from the Saskatchewan Party cabinet but stayed in caucus.

When asked why the response to Domotor’s charge was so different from the reaction to McMorris’ charge, Moe replied that he wasn’t the party leader at that time.

Moe was elected leader of the party in 2017. McMorris was given another cabinet appointment in 2020.

Moe wouldn’t say what the reaction would be if another MLA was charged with drunk driving now, saying he didn’t want to engage in hypotheticals.

Gary Grewal and the Sunrise Motel

Last week, the Saskatchewan NDP revealed evidence showing that the Sunrise Motel in east Regina was doing business with the Ministry of Social Services — putting up clients in emergency situations — and is owned by Sask. Party MLA Gary Grewal.

Grewal hasn’t spoken to the situation publicly, as he’s mourning a death in the family.

On Monday, Moe said Grewal will be working on the issue when he returns to work.

“I would ask him … to ensure that he is sitting down with the conflict of interest commissioner and ensuring that he is not in conflict with a business that he owns but does not actively run,” said Moe.

If there is a conflict, Moe said Grewal will work to ensure things will be brought into compliance.

Moe said he wouldn’t want to preclude any of those conversations the Grewal might have with the commissioner by commenting on even the perception of a conflict.

“There’s people on both sides of the house, I think, that have (conflicts) whether it be businesses or different memberships outside of their work as a member of the Legislative Assembly,” said Moe.

“That’s why we have a conflict of interest commissioner so that they can provide advice, first and foremost, on what you may be associated with outside of your time as a member of the Legislative Assembly or what you may own coming in as a member of the Legislative Assembly.”

Moe also said it would be good for the Ministry of Social Services to explain the policy around hotel stays to the public, explaining it’s a practice that’s been around for years and possibly decades.