SASKATOON — Saskatchewan NDP Deputy Leader Vicki Mowat, on Wednesday, Feb. 18, called for harsher punishment when it comes to sex-related crimes, after a serial sexual offender Kyle Hameluck was briefly released and again arrested for breaching his release conditions.
Mowat said Ottawa should consider strengthening penalties in the Criminal Code and asked the provincial government to increase funding for police and victim support to prevent a person like Hameluck from roaming the streets freely and continuing to commit the same crime.
“It's also long past time that the federal Liberals reform the Criminal Code and take a tougher stance on people who won't stop breaking the law. That means harsher sentences in mandatory minimums for serial voyeurism,” said Mowat.
“Twenty years ago, we were the place where you kept our door unlocked. Now, people in Saskatchewan don't feel safe in their own homes. This has to change … We're calling on the federal government to take a closer look at this.”
She added that a tougher approach to dealing with sexual predators is needed, following recent disturbing events in Saskatoon over the weekend involving Hameluck.
Hameluck was again detained, and police warned that he would likely re-offend. He was sentenced to less than three years in prison in October 2025, with credit for time served, and was released after just seven months. A public safety warning was issued in advance of his release.
Mowat said a sexual offender like Hameluck has a pattern after he pleaded guilty to 38 counts of voyeurism in 2020, offences he committed while he was on probation for the same misdemeanour, and was also convicted of indecent assault in 2017.
“A constant public safety threat that's been ongoing for years and years, and this is a broader problem than just one offender. We need to get tough on sexual predators. We need more law enforcement resources to crack down on crime like this, and criminal code reforms,” said Mowat.
“A few months or years in prison seems like a slap on the wrist for a serial predator likely to re-offend. We've also heard from victims of this man who say that they still do not feel safe in their own homes and have not gotten the support that they deserve from the provincial government.”
She also appealed to the provincial government to increase funding for local police services, as well as for agencies and organizations that provide victim support, in the upcoming budget planning and deliberations.
“There are many changes that need to happen at the provincial level as well in justice reforms, but in particular, one of the pieces we're looking at today is the mandatory minimums on the provincial side. We're calling on the provincial government, the Sask. Party government, to increase support to make sure that our police are properly funded and supported,” said Mowat.
“The police today are facing more challenges than they ever have before. We have people in mental health crises due to addiction, and they have told us that they don't have the resources in all cases to tackle these issues. When we talk about the provincial government, we often see a reactive approach to crime.”
She added that the NDP, if it were in government, would take a more proactive approach to developing a real plan to tackle crime, get tough on crime and address its root causes. She also cited Statistics Canada ranking Saskatchewan as having the second-highest voyeurism crime rate in the country in 2024, a troubling trend after the province was ranked first in the last decade.
The province also has a public registry of sexual offenders.
Representing women
Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck and Justice shadow minister Nicole Sarauer joined Mowat in calling for a tougher stance on sex-related crimes, such as serial voyeurism, and said an increase in funding for police services would help curb habitual offenders and protect victims.
“We need to get tough on sexual offenders, full stop. We need more law enforcement resources to crack down on crime like this and Criminal Code reforms, especially for a serial offender likely to re-offend,” said Beck.
“We need to fight crime and take real, meaningful action to improve public safety and tackle the root causes of crime.”
Mowat commended the Saskatoon Police Service for quickly removing Hameluck from the streets after he allegedly violated the conditions of his parole. However, this must not happen a third time, when he could again be released, she said.
“Clearly, we need harsher sentences for serial offenders. There has been widespread public backlash to what happened over the weekend. I am calling on the Federal Government to respond to this situation appropriately and do what’s necessary to ensure it doesn’t happen again,” said Mowat.
Sarauer added: “It’s long past time the Sask. Party properly fund our police departments and victim supports in this province, and that can start with massive funding increases in this upcoming budget.”
Advocating for reforms
The government, in a statement, said that it had repeatedly advocated for sentencing and bail reform to hold offenders properly accountable and prioritize public safety by making it more difficult for repeat violent offenders to obtain bail.
It said that Saskatchewan’s advocacy played a key role in the federal government’s development of Bill C-48, which creates reverse-onus provisions for violent offences involving the use of a weapon, as well as for some firearm offences and some interpersonal violence offences.
“In addition, our government is implementing a series of initiatives to tackle crime and increase public safety, such as enhancing law enforcement presence across the province by increasing the number of front-line officers and legislation to provide officers with more tools to keep communities safe,” said the statement.
“This includes 100 new municipal police officers through the Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Initiative, adding 71 to date. The government is also funding 160 municipal policing positions through the Municipal Police Service Grants program and hiring Saskatchewan Marshals Service officers, with 26 hired to date.”
The government said it had a province-wide victim services program to ensure proper services are available to those who experienced sex-related crimes. Victims can access the services through the justice and law enforcement systems and community organizations.
The government added that it had also appropriated about $11.32 million to the province’s victim services to provide funding to police services and community-based organizations for police-based victim services, specialized services for victims of domestic violence and programming for children exposed to violence, as well as funding for compensation, restitution and victim-witness services.
