Then-Senator Eric Berntson leaves the Supreme Court of Canada in Ottawa in 2001 with his wife Joan after the court rejected his appeal. (File Photo).FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press
Eric Berntson, a former Saskatchewan and federal politician who served jail time for fraud, has died. He was 77.
Mr. Berntson first entered provincial politics in 1975, when he won the Souris-Cannington riding as a Progressive Conservative.
He served as the Leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1982 after the newly elected party leader, Grant Devine, did not have a seat. When Mr. Devine became premier in 1982, Mr. Berntson was named his deputy.
Mr. Berntson was an MLA until 1990, when he was appointed to the Senate by prime minister Brian Mulroney.
He was a sitting senator in 1999 when he was convicted of defrauding Saskatchewan taxpayers of more than $41,000 during his tenure as deputy premier. The Saskatchewan Court of Appeal later upheld the conviction, ruling that his private holding company improperly billed the government for services performed by his relatives. When Mr. Berntson’s final appeal, before the Supreme Court of Canada, was rejected in 2001, he resigned his Senate seat to serve a one-year jail term.
As deputy premier, Mr. Berntson was the most senior politician implicated in a scandal that saw 21 members of the Devine caucus charged with fraud or corruption. Fourteen Conservative MLAs and two staff members were ultimately convicted of various schemes to defraud money. A total of $1-million was stolen from the coffers of the Saskatchewan government.
Eric Arthur Berntson was born on May 16, 1941, in Oxbow, Sask., to Art and Jenny Berntson. Before entering politics, he served with the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Canadian Air Force from 1957 to 1965. According to his death notice, he first enlisted in the RCAF and then flew Banshees with the RCN and ended his military career flying T-33s with the RCAF.
Mr. Berntson, who died in Ottawa on Sunday, leaves his wife, Joanie; daughters, LeeAnne and Kira; son Eric; and a large extended family. He was predeceased by a son, Roland.