Rural crime, health care issues top priorities for SARM convention

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) is hosting its midterm convention later this week in Saskatoon.

Ray Orb, SARM president, says rural crime will be a high priority for discussion.

“We are going to have a really good discussion with the assistant commissioner from F Division. Also, we are going to have our president of the Saskatchewan Rural Crime Watch Association,” said Orb.

Orb said that there is no doubt that there is too much crime happening in rural Saskatchewan.

“There has been especially a lot this past harvest, because farmers are out there in their fields and they are leaving farm equipment out there, they are leaving trucks with fuel, there are a lot of thefts. Still too many break-ins as well and we still have an issue out there, no doubt about it.”

A slight decrease has recently been reported in rural crime according to statistics.

“We’re not too sure if that’s really true or not, we aren’t really seeing that. We aren’t feeling that either,” Orb said.

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“But also, we are going to talk about community safety officers. I think we are going to talk about the marshals, proposals by the province to look at some help.”

In the 2022 throne speech, the Saskatchewan government announced that they were developing a new Saskatchewan’s Marshals Service (SMS). This will consist of approximately 70 officers and provide additional law enforcement across Saskatchewan.

“We know there are areas in Saskatchewan that need more visible, active policing,” Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Minister Christine Tell said.

“The SMS will provide that, and work with RCMP and municipal police to strengthen law enforcement across the entire province.”

The RCMP will remain the provincial police service of jurisdiction but will be supported by the SMS as they conduct proactive investigations.

The service is planned to be established as an independent agency reporting to the Minister of Corrections, Policing, and Public Safety. It is expected to be operational by mid to late 2026 at an annual cost of $20 million.

Orb said that rural health care will also be a priority during the convention.

“Getting doctors, getting nurses, emergency technicians, those kinds of things out there is still an issue. We have a resolution that is coming. Healthcare is always an issue for our rural members. I think at our annual conventions, that should be number one issue.”

“I know the province has done a better job of getting more seats for nursing, but we are still concerned about emergency services being closed in rural areas,” said Orb. “That’s a big issue for us.”

“But the emergency services in rural Saskatchewan are really important for farming because if someone is hurt in a farm accident, there’s no place to go so they have to go to a larger centre.”

Orb explains that having STARS air ambulances are great, but they need more coverage on the ground.

The convention will begin Wednesday at Tcu Place, Saskatoon.

4:23 Rural crime and health care top issues at SARM convention