REGINA — Just a day after the Corrections, Public Safety and Policing portfolio got both a new minister and a new name, the NDP's critic for the portfolio, Nicole Sarauer, was roasting the government over continued high crime rates.
At a news conference Friday at the legislature, Sarauer pointed to new Statistics Canada data showing Saskatchewan now has the second-worst homicide rate in Canada.
“Nationally, the homicide rate declined by four per cent between 2023 and 2024, marking the second consecutive year of improvement. In contrast, Saskatchewan's homicide rate rose by 7.4 per cent during the exact same period,” Sarauer said.
“And since Scott Moe became premier, the provincial homicide rate has increased by 58 per cent. Earlier this year, Statistics Canada reported Saskatchewan's crime severity index is nearly double the national average, and more than two and a half times the level seen in provinces like Ontario and Quebec.”
Sarauer also pointed to the “highest rate of interpersonal violence, and it too has risen sharply since Moe became premier.”
“Those numbers should be deeply concerning for everyone in Saskatchewan. While other provinces are seeing safer communities, people here are feeling less safe, and the situation continues to worsen.”
Sarauer also accused the government of having “not acknowledged the scale of the problem.” That messaging from Sarauer runs counter to the recent Sask Party government focus in the Speech from the Throne on keeping the province “strong, safe and secure.”
But Sarauer was of the view that the government “had almost two decades to address public safety, but the situation has deteriorated.”
“Years of cuts, understaffed police services, and reduced community supports have contributed to growing challenges in both preventing crime and addressing its root causes.”
Sarauer’s news conference on crime had initially been scheduled for the day before, but was postponed due to a media conflict with Premier Moe’s cabinet shuffle and swearing-in ceremonies at Government House.
That shuffle saw the former Corrections, Public Safety and Policing minister, Tim McLeod, relinquish that portion of his duties to focus on his Justice, Attorney General and House Leader roles. Weyburn-Bengough MLA Mike Weger was sworn in to take over the portfolio, which now goes by the new name “Community Safety.”
“I think it rolls off the tongue a little easier, doesn’t it?” Weger told reporters after being sworn in. He added that the new name “really sums up one of our main focuses as a province, as a government — strong, safe, secure… I think it’s a very high priority of our government so I think it’s a good name change.”
Premier Moe said the name change was meant to “reflect, I think, what the people of Saskatchewan want to see, which is safe communities. And it is going to be reflective in the direction of that ministry as well.”
Moe said it “won't simply be about enforcement,” but about “ensuring that our communities are safe.” He particularly pointed to a focus on addressing addictions, expanding addictions treatment opportunities, and getting drugs off the streets.
“The drugs that are in our communities, I've said this many times, they're nothing short of poison and they need to leave. And we need to have it be our level goal to eradicate those drugs from our Saskatchewan communities. And that's what I've asked Minister Weger to look at.”
On Friday, Sarauer challenged the new minister to take action.
“We now have a new Public Safety Minister after his predecessor failed to restore safety to our community,” Sarauer said.
“I'm calling on Minister Weger today to commit to implementing a comprehensive plan to get tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime, and commit to reversing Saskatchewan's worst-in-the-nation crime severity rates and second-worst-in-the-nation homicide rates. Families deserve to see a future in this province. We need to get tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime.”
When asked about the government’s pledges about making community safety a priority, Sarauer made clear she was not convinced.
“We hear a lot of grand statements from this government, but not a lot of action,” Sarauer said.
“Again, we need to see a government, and we deserve a government, that's tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime. Not only putting more boots on the ground in terms of policing, but addressing the root causes of crime and coming forward with comprehensive strategies for dealing with our homicide rates, our gangs, and making domestic violence a public safety issue.”
