The Saskatchewan NDP has called for Premier Scott Moe to remove Cypress Hills MLA Doug Steele as Government Caucus Chair after testimony on his role in a local human trafficking trial.
"When Doug Steele's name was thrown out there and when we learned about his involvement in all of this," said Brittney Senger, Shadow Minister for Ethics & Democracy. "It became deeply, deeply troubling and something that action needs to be taken on."
Steele testified in court that he and his staff became involved in 2022 after a young woman reached out to his office saying she felt unsafe and exploited at her job in a rural diner.
The woman, whose identity is protected under a publication ban, later became central to human traffic to criminal charges laid against Mohammad Masum and Sohel Haider.
Steele communicated with her on her concerns about her working conditions before eventually sending his assistant, Sean Checkley, to help her leave one of the businesses she was working at.
The NDP has several concerns about Steele's actions.
"One thing that comes to mind is that he called the victim 'pretty lady' in a private message," Senger said. "It's also concerning that he has no record of those messages with her and that allegedly he deleted them. He didn't contact the police or authorities despite admitting to fearing for her safety. He kept no record of casework, documenting his interactions with her, and he solicited assistance from unrelated parties like another MLA and a political staffer instead of actually taking things to the RCMP."
Steele declined to comment on the NDP's statements.
When testifying in court, Steele denied the relationship was romantic or inappropriate, insisting he was trying to help someone navigating language barriers and emotional distress.
“I was trying to support someone in distress,” said the Cypress Hills MLA while on the stand. “I was gathering information, not conducting an investigation.”
Steele acknowledged in court that he deleted messages exchanged with the woman and discussed doing so with fellow MLA Hugh Nerlien prior to both men being interviewed by the RCMP. He denied that the deletions were meant to obstruct justice.
"As caucus chair, it is a position of leadership," Senger said. "When there is an MLA who is involved in something as horrific as a human trafficking case that does not conduct himself in an appropriate way, that doesn't navigate the appropriate channels accordingly, he's not fit to be in this leadership role. If that's how he's dealing with his constituents, then frankly, he should not be providing leadership to other members of his caucus on how they should navigate complicated casework."
Steele had testified he eventually sought out a Bengali-speaking constituency assistant from another MLA’s office to help communicate with the woman in her first language. Steele said in court he didn’t know whether the woman was being trafficked or simply mistreated in the workplace. When she moved to Elrose, Steele said her distress deepened, and he planned her removal from that job site in March 2023.
"When you can tell that somebody is fearful, somebody is afraid for their life, for their safety, for their well-being, MLA or not, the first step is to call the RCMP," Senger said. "To look for support and to get that person proper support."
Checkley testified the woman thanked him multiple times for helping her get to a shelter. At that point, he returned to the MLA's office and gave a statement to the RCMP.
During Steele's testimony, he noted that no official file was ever opened by his office because the woman never signed a consent form, and the team was unsure of the legal implications of their involvement.
The trial is ongoing.
With files from Jenny Hagan.