Premier Scott Moe says a Saskatchewan Party legislature member has been kicked out of caucus and stripped of his appointments after being charged with obtaining sexual services.
Moe said he learned Friday of the charge against backbencher Ryan Domotor and took immediate action.
"Those in public office should be working to support vulnerable women, not exploit them,” Moe said in a statement.
“There is absolutely no place in our government, nor frankly in the assembly, for someone who has been charged with such a crime.”
Domotor, 56, could not be immediately reached for comment.
Regina police said its vice unit was conducting a project to combat sexual exploitation and human trafficking in the provincial capital this week and arrested 16 people, including Domotor.
He was arrested at a business on the city's east side Thursday at about 2 p.m., police said.
Domotor had been at the provincial legislature earlier in the day. A few hours before his arrest, he spoke to a motion about Saskatchewan's disagreement with the federal government's climate policies, including federal carbon pricing.
He is scheduled appear in court in January.
Domotor was elected in the Cut Knife-Turtleford constituency in the 2020 provincial election. He served as a member of the standing committee on human services. The Saskatchewan Legislative Assembly website also says he was recently appointed to the cabinet committee on the economy.
In June, Domotor was acclaimed as the party's candidate in the constituency for the 2024 provincial election.
He was previously the chief administrative officer for the Rural Municipality of Mervin for 26 years. He was also the administrator for the North West Heavy Oil Committee for 12 years.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Nov. 17, 2023.
— With files from Kelly Geraldine Malone in Saskatoon