Premier welcomes Don McMorris's return to Sask. Party caucus, MADD does not

Premier Brad Wall said he’s pleased to see Don McMorris return to the Saskatchewan Party benches.

The former deputy premier made the request to return following his conviction for drunk driving last summer. A vote was held and he was accepted back on Monday.

Wall contends McMorris is simply back in the team and nothing else.

“He is not coming back as the deputy premier, he is still paying a huge price for this terrible mistake he has made, he is not in cabinet, he is not a deputy premier,” Wall argued, adding he is mindful of one particular thing.

“The counsellor he was talking to pointed out sometimes it’s better to get people back involved in their workplace where there is support rather than have them separated.”           

The premier believes his team and government could learn things from his colleague’s mistake.

“He has become passionate in believing that interlock should be mandatory and that technology should be a priority of car manufacturer’s so perhaps it can be made easier,” Wall said.

But while the premier is supportive of McMorris returning, MADD Regina is not.

Regina community leader Wendell Waldron said in the private sector something like this is virtually unprecedented.

“I’ve seen people lose their jobs for impaired driving. I haven’t seen anyone be re-hired seven months after it happen,” he said. “We’re saying that we’re tough on impaired driving and on the other side we’re saying we’re accepting of an individual coming back into caucus.”

The example set by the Saskatchewan Party, according to Waldron, explains why the province has so many problems with drunk driving: it’s not taken seriously enough. 

Waldron said he would prefer the Saskatchewan Party had waited until McMorris’s full driving ban had been served before considering reinstating him in the caucus.

—With files from Arielle Zerr and Jessika Guse