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According to a statement from Jim Billington, press secretary to Premier Scott Moe, the GTH entered into a subletting agreement with marketing firm sMedia in October.

“Signing this sub-lease will result in a loss on the lease of $278K over the next 10 years, but results in a significant reduction of $1.7M in costs to the GTH when compared to leaving the space vacant,” Billington wrote in an email after the Leader-Post raised questions on Friday.

He noted the commercial real estate market has changed significantly since the original lease was signed in 2014.

The NDP blasted yet another financial loss at the GTH, while also expressing concern over the potential of a conflict of interest.

sMedia is partly owned by Regan Hinchcliffe, the son of Minister of Corrections and Policing Christine Tell. He is also a director of the company, according to corporate registry documents.

In a statement, Saskatoon Nutana NDP MLA Cathy Sproule raised questions over what discussions the GTH may have pursued regarding the sublease before handing over management to Colliers International in October.

“This latest deal needs to be properly investigated now that Colliers has assumed responsibility,” read the statement, which was sent on Monday.

“We need to know how this company was identified as a possibility to lease the space, and who approved cutting the cost for the space by thirty percent.”

Billington later told the Leader-Post that advertising for the space commenced in February 2019, after Colliers was brought on to market the office. Negotiations began on Aug. 20, 2019, with Colliers and the acting CEO of the GTH on one side, and sMedia and their broker on the other.