By Jill Slater

Wall defends SK money used for U.S. lobbying

Sep 15, 2014 | 4:22 PM

Premier Brad Wall is defending giving more than $3 million in taxpayer's money over the past five years to an American law firm to lobby for energy interests in Washington D.C.

“We spend less in this province than other provinces doing some of the same work because we don’t have offices,” said Wall to reporters Monday. Alberta and B.C. have full time offices in D.C.

The money was spent to promote the Keystone oil pipeline and the province's carbon capture project, among others. The law firm Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough helped Premier Brad Wall work the halls of U.S. Congress. A Toronto Star report Monday stated, in some cases, some members of U.S. Congress received political contributions from the law firm before or after having contact with the premier.

“I had no idea and was surprised to read about it in the Star,” said Wall when asked about the timing of the contributions.

The premier stressed that the contributions were from the law firm, not the province.

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“Let’s be clear: they’re not made by Saskatchewan. They’re made by a firm that’s a registered lobbyist that’s allowed to make donations,” said Wall.

David Wilkins, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada, released a statement Monday afternoon on behalf of the law firm regarding the contributions.

“I would like to make abundantly clear the strict policies adhered to by my Firm, Nelson Mullins, in regards to making political contributions. The timing of all political contributions are dictated solely by the timing of a fundraising event and have nothing whatsoever to do with any meetings in Washington.”

The opposition NDP is calling for a review of the program.

“I think it’s a huge concern and the question remains: who’s really benefiting from the $3 million that this government has spent?” asked NDP leader Cam Broten. “Over $3 million for a handful of meetings, to me, is not good value for money spent.”

Wall says he’s been pleased with Nelson Mullins’ performance and plans to continue doing business with the firm going forward.

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