Prince Albert council has questions after government letter proven fake  

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The letter, which was known to be questionable before the meeting but had already been attached to the agenda, was only part of the reason council denied the application. Several councillors stated they were opposed based on the application itself, which they said was not complete and a meeting with community members was not handled well by the applicants.  

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Although it will be six months before Ahtahkakoop can apply again, council was worried about the fake letter and told staff to investigate it further. The resulting report was discussed during Monday’s executive council meeting. 

Coun. Dawn Kilmer said Monday that she is concerned about how council can make sure they are not getting and sharing wrong information when faced with a decision.  

“We allowed, in public, misinformation and when there is misinformation in the public, it is really hard to combat that misinformation,” she said.  

Her concerns were connected to making sure that whoever heard the false information got real information to counteract it.  

Coun. Troy Parenteau said he spoke to Social Services staff himself, and they told him that more group homes are needed—the opposite of what the letter claimed.  

“I spoke to the ministry and they said that group homes are definitely needed,” he said.  

Coun. Darren Solomon said he thought the letter could be seen as fraudulent and possibly warrant a police investigation.  

“It this something that should not be referred to the Prince Albert Police Services as well?” he asked. “Someone tried to do something that was not authentic and not genuine. The word fraudulent has been brought up. I’m not sure if it fits that definition or not.”  

The Ministry of Social Services has given the city some guidelines on how they structure letters to municipalities so that it is easier to spot a fake letter in the future, should one be sent.  

Acting city manager Craig Guidinger said that more detailed processes can be put in place to make sure information is authentic, and the agenda is reviewed in the days before the council meeting. Options will come back to council for their discussion in the future.  

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Susan.McNeil@pattisonmedia.com