Saskatchewan Party leader promises more power for police to address public nuisances
Saskatchewan Party Leader Scott Moe says he would get tough on those disrupting the public and will shut down nuisance properties if re-elected premier on Oct. 28.
Moe says he would amend legislation to provide police with additional authority to address intoxication, vandalism and other disturbances on public property.
He says 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.
Moe also says the legislation would let officers address abandoned buildings that have been repeatedly broken into or have trespassers squatting inside.
He says the plan would build on the Saskatchewan Party's record of hiring more police officers.
Moe says his previous government has funded 180 new RCMP positions, plans to hire 100 new municipal officers and 70 more through the Saskatchewan Marshals Service.
"We want to strengthen our laws to make sure those officers have the tools they need so everyone in Saskatchewan feels safe in their communities and neighbourhoods," Moe said in a news release.
"We know that most crime today is driven by drug addiction, so it also means having treatment beds available when an individual is ready to get help. That's why our government has been increasing the number of addictions treatment spaces available in Saskatchewan."
Carla Beck's NDP has also made crime a key part of her election platform.
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 said she would hire 100 municipal officers through the funding that was promised by Moe's Saskatchewan Party government.
The NDP took aim at Moe's record, saying crime has increased under his watch as premier.
It 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.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadians across the country mark Remembrance Day
Today Canadians will remember and honour the sacrifice of men and women in uniform who gave their lives in service of the country's values and principles.
Trump announces Tom Homan, former director of immigration enforcement, will serve as 'border czar'
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says that Tom Homan, his former acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement director, will serve as "border czar" in his incoming administration.
Why brain aging can vary dramatically between people
Researchers are uncovering deeper insights into how the human brain ages and what factors may be tied to healthier cognitive aging, including exercising, avoiding tobacco, speaking a second language or even playing a musical instrument.
Bleeding and in pain, a woman endured a harrowing wait for miscarriage care due to Georgia's restrictive abortion law
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision eliminated the federal right to abortion, miscarriage management has become trickier and in some cases, deadlier.
Montreal dockworkers reject deal with lockout to begin
The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association.
Canadian veterans remember how they eased tensions as UN peacekeepers in ethnically split Cyprus
It was the first time that Canadian UN peacekeeper Michelle Angela Hamelin said she came up against the raw emotion of a people so exasperated with their country's predicament.
'I was called;' Murray Sinclair's life and legacy honoured at emotional memorial
Applause erupted over and over at the Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg Sunday as the son of Murray Sinclair, a former judge, senator and chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission into residential schools, spoke about his father.
Children's book by chef Jamie Oliver withdrawn after criticism from Indigenous Australians
A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticized for causing offense to Indigenous Australians.
Man shot by police in Hamilton has died, victim did 'not appear' to fire a gun, says SIU
A man who was critically injured in a police-involved shooting in Hamilton late Sunday afternoon has died in hospital, says the province’s police watchdog.