REGINA — The provincial government says it is expecting few issues in the transition to a new animal welfare service provider as of April 1.
The province announced Monday that the Saskatchewan Animal Enforcement Agency will provide animal welfare enforcement services in Saskatchewan starting April 1. This excludes the City of Regina, where the Regina Humane Society holds the contract under a separate, longstanding arrangement for that community.
The province is shifting to a new provider after news reports in November that the existing provider, Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan, would not be renewing its contract at the end of the term.
Around that same month the province also announced it was introducing new legislation for animal control enforcement in the Legislature, which includes some changes impacting enforcement activity.
The government introduced the Animal Protection Amendment Act in November for first reading. Among the items in the bill is the creation of new animal welfare inspector positions to provide education on animal care to the public and industry. The bill also calls for establishing a code of conduct for protection officers and animal welfare inspectors, as well as providing authority to obtain telewarrants to relieve animal distress. The legislation is expected to be passed when the session resumes in the spring.
In an emailed statement, the province said that following an “open, competitive tender process,” the SAEA was selected based on several key criteria.
The province said those criteria include a long-term operational plan that meets government expectations for enforcement of The Animal Protection Act, 2018, including legislative amendments brought in last fall.
The province said SAEA’s proposal combined “strong internal governance with civilian board oversight to ensure accountability and enforcement.” It added the proposed board of directors has experience in law enforcement, finance and business management.
"The Government of Saskatchewan will work with the SAEA and the existing service provider, Animal Protection Services of Saskatchewan (APSS), to ensure a smooth transition when APSS’s contract expires March 31 and the SAEA’s contract takes effect on April 1," the province said in a statement. "The SAEA's organization will employ individuals with expertise in animal welfare to ensure continuity of animal welfare enforcement in Saskatchewan.
"The SAEA will now begin work on precise details regarding numbers of staff, their roles and their locations in the weeks ahead to prepare for a smooth transition April 1. Government and SAEA will inform producers and the general public on how to contact the SAEA and report incidents ahead of the transition date."
While the province expects a smooth transition, the proposed changes to animal welfare enforcement did draw concerns last fall from the SaskSPCA.
After the province announced the changes, the SaskSPCA issued a news release voicing concerns that annual operating funding was being reduced, which could hamper the new agency’s ability to enforce legislation or manage an increasing workload.
The organization noted that, according to RFP documents, the Ministry of Agriculture proposed an annual budget of $1.6 million for the new enforcement agency. That compared with figures in a provincial news release on Oct. 31 stating the province invested more than $6.5 million in animal welfare enforcement over the previous three years.
“As the organization that was responsible for enforcing animal welfare legislation for over four decades, we fully appreciate the challenges associated with ensuring the animal welfare laws are enforced in a way that is consistent, equitable, and effective,” said Carol Thomson, SaskSPCA president, in a statement. “We very much look forward to learning more about the changes, as we have concerns that animal welfare in Saskatchewan may be compromised by what has been proposed.”
