A TIMELINE OF THE GTH LAND DEALS

The provincial auditor said Thursday she found no evidence of conflict of interest with Minister Bill Boyd’s involvement with Global Transportation Hub land transactions. Here’s a look back at how the dealings took place. September 2010-April 2011: Ministry of Highways buys land near GTH for $9,000-$11,000 an acre, including some from a Catholic order of nuns. November 2011: The GTH identifies need to acquire 204 acres of land east of Regina. March 2012: The GTH board approves its 2012-13 business plan, which includes financial plan to purchase the 204 acres and another parcel of land for $2.2 million. March 2012: Robert Taupaff buys a portion of the 204 acres of land, for $45,000-$55,000 an acre. Taupaff’s family rents farm land from Boyd, the minister responsible for GTH. April 2012: Provincial cabinet directs the GTH to buy the land. The auditor’s report shows this same month the government got an unsolicited call from an unidentified third party business about selling the 204 acres of land for $65,000 an acre. June 2012: A GTH-commissioned land appraisal for the land shows its total value is $3.65 million — or $17,000 an acre. September-October 2012: The GTH decides not to proceed with buying the land and allow the Ministry of Highways to acquire it instead. November 2012: The GTH enters into a contract with a commercial realtor to immediately pursue purchasing the land and asks the government for permission to do so. The same month, the Crown corporation signs a conditional agreement with the unidentified third party to buy a portion of the 204 acres for $78,000 per acre. December 2012: Conditions for the purchase agreement to buy the parcels of land aren’t met and the offer expires. February 2013: Although unidentified by the auditor, it appears Tapauff buys more of the land and then sells it to another company, believed to be owned by Anthony Marquart, at an increased price. July 2013: Boyd and GTH management express in writing the government’s interest in buying the land from Marquart. August 2013: A land agent to help buy the land is hired by the GTH. October 2013: The Ministry of Highways and the GTH do appraisals on the 204 acres of Marquart’s land. It is appraised at $12 million, or around $59,000 an acre. November 2013: Boyd asks one his senior advisers to see if Marquart’s company is interested in selling the land. December 2013: Boyd recommends to the GTH that the government buy the land for $21.4 million — at $103,000 per acre — and sell surplus land to the GTH. Cabinet authorizes the GTH to buy the 204 acres for $21.4 million. March 2014: The GTH’s purchase of the land is closed. It then sells 58 acres to the Ministry of Highways for $2.9 million, at an average cost of $50,000 per acre. February 2016: Premier Brad Wall asks provincial auditor Judy Ferguson to look into the GTH land acquisition process. Boyd maintains he did nothing wrong and said the transactions were “about as reasonable a deal as we could possibly get, given the way land has appreciated and has continued to appreciate out there.” It’s revealed the conflict of commissioner concluded there was no conflict by Boyd. June 30, 2016: The provincial auditor report finds no evidence of fraud, wrongdoing, or conflict of interest among the GTH board of directors or GTH management.