Sask. NDP calls on province to better address crime, addictions

The opposition NDP is calling for action from the Saskatchewan Party government to address crime, gangs, addictions and the increase of crystal meth-related incidents.

NDP leader Ryan Meili made the call from David Forbes’ Constituency Office in Saskatoon Thursday.

Meili said he recently toured the Pleasant Hill area with the Okihtcitawak Patrol Group and believes it’s time for movement from the government.

“For the last 10 years, we’ve seen the Sask. Party fail to take any serious action,” he said. “In that period, you’ve actually seen life expectancy among the lowest 10 per cent of earners drop, while it’s climbing everywhere else in the country.”

Meili stressed how Saskatchewan is the only province in Canada that doesn’t have a poverty reduction strategy.

“Where (a poverty reduction strategy) has been introduced, you’ve seen significant decreases in the number of people living in poverty, and that has a connected decrease in the number of people struggling with addictions and mental health,” he explained.

Meili made note of the fact that meth-related incidents are on the rise in Saskatoon and Regina, citing that in 2018 Saskatoon dealt with 249 meth incidents.

In Regina, 106 incidents in 2018, compared to just seven in 2014.

Meili noted that the cost of poverty in Saskatchewan is “$4 billion a year,” when it comes to health services, social services, justice costs and decreased economic activity.

Shane Partridge, safety coordinator for the Pleasant Hill Community Association and a member of the Okihtcitawak Patrol Group, also believes in implementing a strategy, and that it’s long overdue.

“We need to quit having these meetings and talking about what we can or can’t do. We need to start acting,” he said. “(We need to allow) the youth to flourish instead of having to witness murders, robberies, home invasions — this isn’t normal and this is not good, yet our community seems to be passing it off as ‘It’s just a big city issue.'”

In recent statistics, Saskatoon and Regina were both listed as one of the four worst major cities in Canada in crime severity.