Saskatchewan Party, NDP leaders address crime on campaign trail ahead of election

Saskatchewan’s two main party leaders addressed crime Thursday, with Scott Moe promising more powers for police and the NDP’s Carla Beck slamming the Saskatchewan Party’s record.

Moe told reporters in Prince Albert he would get tough on those disrupting the public and will shut down nuisance properties if the Saskatchewan Party wins re-election on Oct. 28.

He said he would amend legislation to provide police with additional authority to address intoxication, vandalism and other disturbances on public property.

The measure would allow business owners to designate police as authorized representatives, giving officers the power to remove people from businesses without needing permission on a case-by-case basis.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe in their neighbourhood,” Moe said.

“You should be able to walk down the street in your community, go shopping in the mall or play with your children or grandchildren at the local playground without any fear or worry.”

Moe also said the legislation would let officers deal with abandoned buildings that have been repeatedly broken into or have trespassers squatting inside.

The plan would build on the Saskatchewan Party’s record of hiring more police officers. Moe said his previous government has funded 180 new RCMP positions, but added those spots still require federal funding.

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He also said he plans to hire 100 new municipal officers along with 70 more through the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.

He said increasing the number of addictions treatment spaces is also part of the plan.

“We need to ensure that we’re doing the proper work to get the drug dealers out of our community,” Moe said.

Asked by reporters about Moe’s proposal to designate police as authorized representatives, Beck said she hasn’t had a comprehensive look at it.

“This is a government that, on the eve of an election, has seen crime right across our province grow and grow and has done nothing about a growing mental health and addictions crisis,” Beck said in Regina.

The NDP has said crime rates in the province have hit a 10-year high, with significant problems in rural areas and in Prince Albert, which was ranked the third-most-violent city in Canada last year.

Beck called the Saskatchewan Party’s marshal service a “pet police force” that doesn’t get boots on the ground immediately.

The former Saskatchewan Party government began recruiting marshals earlier this year, with plans for the force to be operational by the end of 2026.

“We need to get tough on crime and ensure that we have the officers that are needed today, not at some time in the future,” Beck said.

“But we also need to address those root causes of crime, the mental health and addictions crisis that we see in this province.”

Beck has said her party would scrap the marshals service, which is anticipated to cost $20 million per year once operational. She said she would use those dollars to hire 100 Mounties and expand detox services.

She has also pledged to hire 100 municipal officers through the funding that was promised by Moe’s government.

Other NDP promises include a working group to deal with gangs and a rebate program for businesses to purchase security systems.

The marshals plan has come under fire by the National Police Federation, the union representing Mounties, which says the dollars would be better spent on RCMP. Dozens of municipalities have also taken issue with the plan.

Moe shot back at that criticism Thursday, saying the marshals will work with RCMP.

He said the Mounties’ union is going to advocate for more officers and “more union dues.”

“I would ask them to put forward one other provincial government that has increased on a per capita percentage basis the number of officers that Saskatchewan has (hired) since 2011,” Moe said.

Beck said Saskatchewan communities just want more boots on the ground.

“Instead of fixing the problem, (Moe) reaches for division,” she said.

“He reaches for dismissing very real concerns from officers, for sure, but from communities right across this province.”