The guest list

Let's take a leisurely stroll through Thursday's Hansard and see which guests' names turn up now that nobody is trying to shut important voices out of the Legislature. Say, what's this?

Hon. Mr. Boyd: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, during the Standing Committee on Crown and Central Agencies hearings on SaskPower future generation plans in late 2009 and early 2010, we heard that our electrical utility would be pursuing emissions-free hydroelectric generation as part of its medium- and long-term plans.

Well, Mr. Speaker, it’s my pleasure to welcome some very special guests to the Legislature here this morning that are seated in your gallery. They are here today for an announcement that we are very pleased to be hosting in the Legislative Building at 11:30 this morning regarding a significant agreement on hydroelectric power between three First Nations in this province and additional folks as well.

Joining us today are...Guy Bruce from SaskPower; Kevin Doherty from SaskPower; Wayne Rude from SaskPower; and Ray Desjarlais from SaskPower.

Let's see. Kevin Doherty from SaskPower...Kevin Doherty from SaskPower...why does that name ring a bell?

Ah yes, that Kevin Doherty from SaskPower. Who's apparently being invited to participate in public announcements on behalf of a public utility even as his name and face are being blasted from the rooftops as part of the Sask Party's 2011 campaign.

Now in fairness, the fact that Doherty was introduced based on his role at SaskPower rather than his capacity as a candidate suggests that the Sask Party hasn't gone quite as far as its federal cousins in directly using public announcements to promote unelected non-representatives who have nothing to do with the subject matter of an event.

But it's still rather dubious that Doherty is being chosen for media presentation at a government-sponsored event while he's actively involved in a political campaign on behalf of the governing party. And it'll certainly be worth keeping an eye on just how often Doherty's current job is used to raise his profile for electoral purposes.