New Sask. marshals service now expected to be operational next year instead of 2026 | CBC News
The Saskatchewan Marshals Service says it’s ahead of schedule and now expects to be operational by summer 2025, instead of the earlier projection of mid-2026.
The Saskatchewan government announced in October 2022 it was establishing the new provincial police force, which it said would help support RCMP. It was originally slated to start operations in 2026, at an annual cost of $20 million.
Since then, the service has hired personnel including a chief marshal, deputy chief marshal, civilian deputy chief, two superintendents and three inspectors, it said in a year-end update Thursday, announcing its earlier launch date.
Chief Marshal Rob Cameron said the hiring process for experienced police officers is in progress. The marshals service expects those officers to complete additional training in the new year. Meanwhile, new recruit positions will be advertised in early 2025.
The Opposition NDP have previously voiced their concern that the new service may “poach” officers from existing police services in the province. Cameron told CBC Thursday the new service is recruiting from a number of places.
“We’ve had actually a little bit of a mix,” he said.
“For example, I have one fellow that came from the Ontario Provincial Police. We’ve had a few that have come from other police services inside Saskatchewan, and we’ve had interest from around the country.”
What the marshals service will do
The service is currently headquartered in Prince Albert, and experienced officers already hired will be based there. Cameron said they will serve across the province.
“As we go forward, we are right now in the process of looking at options for where we would have regional headquarters, and probably in the new year will be able to finalize that and then start looking at those expansion points.”
In a Thursday press release, the service said its mandate is to focus on higher-crime locations through “highly visible and intelligence-led police operations,” including helping find “high-risk and prolific offenders” and people with outstanding arrest warrants.
The marshals service will also provide emergency and specialized support to other police agencies and conduct “proactive investigations” into offences related to farming and agriculture, Thursday’s release said. That will include cattle, crop, metal and farm chemical theft, and trespassing that may result in crop damage.
Concerns over marshals service continue
In August of this year, the largest police union in Canada and nearly 90 municipalities across Saskatchewan signed a letter urging the province to pause its funding for the marshals service, citing concerns about a lack of transparency and accountability.
The service had received $14 million as of August. The National Police Federation, which represents 20,000 RCMP officers across Canada, said the province should invest that in existing police resources.
The NDP shares these funding concerns, and said it’s still concerned about the creation of the new service.
“We feel that taxpayers’ dollars could probably be spent more wisely, and we could be boosting up boots on the ground more quickly by investing in front-line police services that already exist,” said Nicole Sarauer, the NDP’s critic for corrections, policing and public safety.
Chief Marshal Cameron said Thursday the new service has spent an “awful lot of time working with and engaging with” other police services, including the RCMP, and with First Nations.
“We’re seeing some really good interaction there and some really positive commentary with regard to looking forward to the future and being able to work together,” Cameron said.
Sarauer said the NDP wants the province to be transparent about how much the marshals service will ultimately cost. The Opposition will continue to push the Saskatchewan Party government to release cost estimates as soon as possible, she said.
In addition to the cost, there’s “legitimate concern about the fact that the marshals ultimately answer to the [policing and public safety] minister, rather than an independent board of commissioners,” said Sarauer.
“So despite this recent announcement, the concerns are still valid and they’re all very much still there.”
In August, then minister of corrections, policing and public safety Paul Merriman said the province would be “very transparent with what we’re doing with the marshals, just like we are with any of our policing programs.”
Meanwhile, Sarauer said the NDP questions whether the marshals service will indeed be operational in summer 2025.
“This government has a history of making announcements of things opening prematurely. We certainly hope that’s not the case here. But if past behaviour is indicative of future behaviour, then of course we have [a] right to be skeptical.”
CBC reached out to the Saskatchewan RCMP for comment, who said they needed time to review Thursday’s announcement from the marshals service and could not yet respond.
