Minister Jeremy Harrison fired Crown corp board chair who blew the whistle on apparent conflicts of interest

As Dennis Fitzpatrick sat in an airport lounge in Calgary on Nov. 7, 2021, he received a surprising email. 

Little did he know, it would help him uncover a web of troubling relationships inside an influential Crown corporation — and place him in the crosshairs of one of Saskatchewan's most powerful politicians. 

"I mean, when was the last time someone was fired, rehired and fired again?" said Fitzpatrick. 

The email was from Mike Crabtree, the president and CEO of the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) — a Crown corporation.

SRC is a research and technology organization that supports innovation and industrial commercialization on behalf of the Saskatchewan government. It handles critical files like Saskatchewan's nuclear power program and water quality testing.

Fitzpatrick, as board chair of the SRC since 2014, would receive updates from Crabtree as a matter of routine.

But this one jumped out.

Crabtree told Fitzpatrick he was hiring Erin Herman as project manager and operations director for the SRC's high-profile rare earth elements (REE) project.

Rare earths are 17 elements that are key components of many emerging technologies, from robotics to electric vehicles to consumer electronics like phones and hard drives. 

At the time, the SRC was planning to build a groundbreaking REE processing facility in partnership with the private sector. The province is positioning itself to become one of the world's few large-scale REE processors. Since that email was sent, SRC went on to build a wholly government-owned $100-million REE processing facility in Saskatoon. It began production in the summer. 

Fitzpatrick was surprised he was finding out about Herman's new job after the hiring was complete. Herman was a director on the SRC board that Fitzpatrick chaired and would have to resign to accept this new role.

"I knew that Erin Herman was an engineer," Fitzpatrick told CBC. "But my understanding of his experience was not in mining and minerals."

Herman is a businessman, mechanical engineer and inventor of industrial equipment with multiple U.S. and Canadian patents.

Fitzpatrick, a former VP of research at the Universities of Regina and Lethbridge, wondered why Crabtree had selected Herman and why such a senior position had not been publicly advertised.