NDP raises oversight concerns about new Sask. Marshals Service

The provincial government is closer to establishing the Saskatchewan Marshals Service, but the NDP opposition is raising concerns about oversight.

The new provincial police service can now be formed by Christine Tell, Saskatchewan’s minister of corrections, policing and public safety, thanks to a recent order in council from the province.

According to the order, the Prince Albert-based marshals service will have a mandate to police primarily in rural and remote areas, focusing on locations with high crime rates.

The 70-officer service was also mandated to find and arrest prolific criminals who are wanted on warrants, and provide support and assistance to other law enforcement agencies as requested.

The government has said the marshals service is not intended to replace the RCMP or other police services, but Rhonda Blackmore, commanding officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, has raised her own concerns about the marshals service.

Nicole Sarauer, the Saskatchewan NDP’s policing critic, said she’s concerned that the officers with the new police service won’t have a board to oversee them. Instead, the order says the province’s deputy minister of corrections, policing and public safety will act in place of a board to oversee the service’s development.

“This flies in the face of the principles of policing in Canada, the importance of the independence of police from political bodies, including government, and it’s a slap in the face to the rule of law,” Sarauer told The Canadian Press.

“It’s very clear who’s going to be in charge of the marshals and it’s the Sask. Party.”

Tell said the plan is to create a board to oversee the Saskatchewan Marshals Service once it becomes operational in 2026, and there won’t be a board in place in the interim because the structure of the service still needs to be established, and a chief marshal still needs to be hired.

The province is expected to spend $7 million this year as it works to get the new police force off the ground. Once the service is up and running in 2026, the province expects it to cost $20 million per year.

— With files from The Canadian Press