REGINA - The Saskatchewan government's house leader says he's sorry he gave the public wrong information about an apparent case of fraud in his New Democrat caucus office 15 years ago.
But Glenn Hagel says he won't give in to Opposition calls and resign as caucus chief of staff Jim Fodey did earlier in the weekend.
"I'm here to advise you today that I will not be resigning -- continuing to serve -- and that I will be making a statement of clarification in the house on Monday,'' Hagel said before shutting down a question and answer session with reporters at the legislature Sunday afternoon.
The growing controversy involves a caucus worker who left her job in 1992 and wrote a letter to then caucus chair Hagel and caucus chief of staff Jim Fodey confessing that she had inflated expense cheques by about $6,000 and was trying to pay the money back.
In the letter, dated Aug. 23, Ann Lord pleaded with the two men to keep the situation confidential.
A copy of the letter was obtained by the Opposition Saskatchewan Party and brought up in the legislature last week.
Hagel emphatically said that the letter along with the results of an audit were promptly taken to police to be investigated and a decision was made not to press charges.
But Regina police Chief Cal Johnston said that wasn't the case.
About a month after Lord left her job, investigators just happened to be looking into a fire at the legislature involving a car belonging to her husband and discovered she was wanted on an outstanding U.S. warrant.
A short time later she surfaced in Winnipeg and was arrested on Sept. 8, 1992, and extradited to the United States to face fraud charges under a different name.
Police say they contacted Fodey on Sept. 22, 1992, and he told them that an audit was being done and that everything was in order.
Police say they didn't receive a copy of the letter until September 1994 when the NDP requested an investigation.
Police recommended a forensic audit be conducted and turned over to them, but say they haven't able to find a record of whether that was done.
Fodey resigned his position with the party Saturday. In a news release, the caucus said the information on the incident was "not reflected as accurately as it might have been.''
Hagel said he made his comments based on Fodey's recollection of a 15-year-old event and he plans to apologize to the legislature Monday.
"It was a surprise to me when Chief Johnston reported something different from what I had commented,'' Hagel said.
If Hagel won't resign, the premier should fire him because Hagel had a responsibility to make sure the matter was investigated properly in 1992, Opposition deputy leader Ken Krawetz said.
"The NDP continues to cover this up,'' Krawetz said.
"Clearly there are many more questions that that group of NDP has to answer.''
