Chapter 4: Late 1991, Saskatchewan’s Political Earthquake

How an election, misogyny and a changing province redefined the Nineties in Saskatchewan.

By summer of 1991, Saskatchewan public servant and Regina resident Gwenn Ronyk had accomplished what many employees working under twenty-first century governments today never will – she’d survived not just one, but two political party turnovers in the Saskatchewan Legislature.

Ronyk, who held a masters of art history degree at the University of Regina, didn’t have political aspirations when she started working a junior job in the Legislature in 1974 under Allen Blakeney.

When her role in the Devine scandal emerged, Ronyk reluctantly told reporters that she had just needed a job after grad school and Legislative clerk’s assistant role was available.

Fifteen years after she started, in 1989, Ronyk was appointed the first female clerk of the Saskatchewan Legislature. Ten years after that, forced to testify against disgraced Senator and Devine-general Eric Berntson, Ronyk was grilled by Berntson’s lawyer Mike Megaw on her politics.

During the course of putting his defence together, Mike Megaw had demanded from Ronyk’s office copies of the NDP government’s expense forms, which at the time were not public.

Megaw’s request was rejected.

He knew he would be, but he still wielded the denial at Ronyk like a weapon to prove her partisanship.

“It was the Speaker’s decision,” Ronyk replied, calm and composed on the stand.

She’d had plenty of time to prepare.