PAGC pledges $10,000 to family of Colten Boushie

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The Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) hasn’t limited themselves to just offering morale support to Colten Boushie’s family.

They’re also dipping into their pockets to provide financial help as well.

On Sunday, PAGC Vice-Chief Joseph Tsannie announced the organization would donate $10,000 to the family, who have travelled to Parliament Hill to take up their case with the federal government. The announcement was met with loud applause from all in attendance.

PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte said they heard the family faced some financial hardship in travelling to Ottawa, and the organization felt this was one need they could meet.

“They struggled financially to travel to places, like with the cost of gas, cost of food, cost of everything and today they travelled to Ottawa,” Hardlotte said. “They needed that. Everybody needs money, so we came to the decision that … it’s the right thing to do.”

The PAGC wasn’t the only organization stepping up to the plate. Thunderchild First Nation Chief Delbert Wapass offered $5,000 on behalf of his community to help with the family’s expenses. However, Wapass’ offer had a bit more punch to it.

During a speech at Sunday’s rally, he said Thunderchild’s council came to the decision after seeing a GoFundMe account that was set up to help pay legal expenses for the Stanley family. As of Monday, donors have given $108,831 to the cause. The page’s goal is $150,000.

Wapass said if the Stanley’s were going to receive that kind of support, it was important for Indigenous people to offer the same thing to Boushie’s family.

Hardlotte said the PAGC’s decision was focused more on the family’s needs, not on countering other decisions. However, he added that online rhetoric and social media efforts like this have set back reconciliation efforts. He’s optimistic Indigenous and non-Indigenous people can avoid those roadblocks in the future, but disappointed they’re there in the first place.

“We were on a good path, I believe, a path where we were making progress in the area of reconciliation,” Hardlotte said. “I pray to the Creator that good things will happen with Colten Boushie’s legacy.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

Eat Well pilot project call centre aims to serve

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After one month in operation, a new pilot program that helps connect northern residents with dieticians is starting to see some success.

On Jan. 8, the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch partnered with Dietitians of Canada to create Eat Well Saskatchewan, a dietitian call centre pilot project. The goal is to help northern residents access nutritional advice from specialists that typically aren’t available in their communities.

Danielle Switzer, Eat Well Saskatchewan’s lead dietitian, said it’s too early to tell if the program will become a permanent fixture. However, early signs are encouraging.

“We had quite a few calls at the beginning (and) lots of interest in what the line was,” Switzer said. “We’ve had steady calls so far. We’ve had people calling with food and nutrition questions from First Nations communities, which is what the call was designed for. I think it’s doing what we were hoping it would do.”

The project is scheduled to run until March 29, with a brief evaluation period to follow. Administrators will make any decisions or recommendations about the program sometime afterwards.

Residents who phone the service number can get free advice on a variety of issues that range from developing proper eating habits for young children, to learning about foods to avoid if someone has diabetes or heart disease. If a dietician can’t answer a question, callers can receive referrals to someone who can.

“Not all communities have regular, easy access to dietician services,” Switzer said. “A need was identified, and the project will hopefully address that need and give people an opportunity to make a call or send an email and directly contact a registered dietician.”

This isn’t the first time dietician call centres have been tried in Saskatchewan. In 2012, Dietitians of Canada and Saskatchewan Dietitians Association created Ask a Dietitian, a two-month pilot project. The review that followed called Ask a Dietitian “very successful,” but added that most of the callers came from Saskatoon and Regina.

The authors of the review wrote that a lack of funding hindered the program’s effectiveness, and added that large gaps existed in nutritional services, especially in rural, northern and First Nations communities. She also recommended that future projects increase service hours to become more accessible.

Switzer said she hoped this project would meet the needs of those communities by providing credible information in an accessible, timely and affordable way.

“I would like to see that people felt the service helped them by being able to access a registered dietician, that it was easy and it was free, … especially if they live in rural, remote or isolated communities,” she said.

There are currently three provinces in Canada with dietitian call centres. British Columbia broke the ice in 1972, when they established Dial-A-Dietitian, now called Dietitian Services. By 2011-12, residents were sending roughly 18,000 calls and emails to the service per year.

In 2010, Manitoba launched its own Dial-A-Dietitian program as part of a provincial initiative to reduce the burden of chronic disease. The call centre received 1,903 calls in its first two years of operation.

EatRight Ontario (ERO) started in 2007 with the goal of providing free dietary advice to Ontario residents. In 2011-12, a third party review showed that the ERO website drew close to 1 million visits per year, and that dietitians responded to 19,000 calls and emails.

According to Dieticians of Canada, residents who use the call centre increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables, decrease total saturated fat intake, and reduce their body weight and waist circumference.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

City bans new drive-thru liquor stores

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The City of Prince Albert’s three licensed drive-thru liquor establishments are the most of any city in Saskatchewan, and Prince Albert city council has decided that’s enough.

On Monday, council voted to ban the approval of any additional drive-thru liquor locations, effective immediately.

The motion also banned the transfer of drive-thru liquor licenses, which are needed to legally operate those establishments. That means Prince Albert’s two current establishments, along with a third one that’s part of an already approved hotel development in the southwest corner of the city, cannot change location.

Ward 8 Coun. Ted Zurakowski brought forward the motion at Monday’s city council meeting. He called the ban a “sign of a healthy community” and argued that the negative social effects of liquor sales were outweighing any benefits.

“We’ve seen this fad of drive through liquor stores proliferate in our community and we’ve seen the numbers and what that means,” he said. “I think there are repercussions that the public as a whole isn’t aware of, but we have a responsibility to deal with.”

The cost of policing is one of the biggest concerns. Prince Albert currently employs 92 police officers and seven community safety officers for a population of 35,926 people. By comparison, the City of Moose Jaw employs 54 police officers for a population of 33,890 people.

Ward 7 Coun. Dennis Nowoselsky said creating more restrictions on the sale of liquor would place less strain on police resources in Prince Albert, and possibly bring the cost of policing down.

“A good chunk of our police budget is picking up these intoxicated people,” Nowoselsky said. “If we can reduce that, it’s going to reduce the tax burden on our citizens (and) it’s going to be a healthier community.”

Mayor Greg Dionne also came out strongly in favour of the motion. He said he was shocked to hear Prince Albert had more drive-thru liquor locations than any other city in the province.

“It’s a good motion and I’ll be supporting it,” he said during the meeting. “Three is enough.”

Monday’s debate won’t be the last one as city council seeks to place additional restraints on the sale of alcohol.

Officials, like Ward 3 Coun. Evert Botha, said they were pleased to see recent steps taken in La Ronge to develop and implement a community alcohol strategy. Botha said he’d like to see a comprehensive review of city bylaws and alcohol policy in the future.

Dionne said the next city council meeting will include a motion to create a committee that assists northern communities plagued with alcohol related problems. The city hopes to partner with outside organizations like New North. Dionne said he also plans on bringing up the issue at the next Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention in March.

Clear call for appeal and review at Colten Boushie rally

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Linda Charles wasn’t surprised to see Gerald Stanley acquitted on Friday, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a painful experience.

Charles, the Lac La Ronge Indian Band councillor for Stanley Mission, had followed Stanley’s trial in the news over the past two weeks. As soon as the lawyers and prosecutors turned to jury selection, she thought the writing was on the wall.

The jury’s decision to acquit Stanley of the murder of 22-year-old Colten Boushie brought back painful memories for Charles, who lost her own son in 2003 at the age of 24. After the trial, her thoughts turned to Boushie’s mother, Debbie Baptiste, and the rest of the family. When the chance came to come out to a rally and offer her support to Boushie’s family, Charles eagerly took it.

“We can’t wait for the provincial government to say, ‘yes, we’ll work with you,’” Charles said. “We have to start with grassroots people. This was the beginning (and) it’s a very good start.”

Charles wasn’t alone in that assessment. On Sunday, residents from across the north packed into the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre to protest the jury’s decision and offer support to Boushie’s family.

For Charles, who faced a three-and-a-half our drive home after the rally, attending was an easy decision. The hard work is ahead. She wants the provincial and federal governments to overhaul Canada’s education and justice system, and said that’s going to take perseverance and cooperation from Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.

“I know that there’s a lot of work to be done and a lot of work that has taken place right now as a result of what happened,” she explained.

For most in attendance at Sunday’s rally, that work starts with a judicial review. The first speaker of the afternoon, Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte, touched on what would become a familiar theme when he called Canada’s justice system “outdated.”

After the rally, Hardlotte didn’t shy away from offering even more criticism.

“Changes need to be made to be fair (and) not only just for First Nations people. We see it in the mainstream too,” he said. “It’s just a system that I can say is somewhat long and outdated. It hasn’t really served us well, especially the First Nations people in the province and in Canada.”

Hardlotte and the rest of the PAGC want special attention paid to how jurors were selected during the trial, they’re already starting discussions with provincial leaders. First Nations leaders have already met with Premier Scott Moe, and on Monday he and other Saskatchewan tribal chiefs had a meeting in Saskatoon with representatives from the provincial government to discuss the issue, and the PAGC has already come out in support of an appeal.

He said Boushie’s family, and First Nations people across Canada, are hurting. However, he remains hopeful that a change in how Canadian courts operate, particularly in how juries are selected, will be a positive legacy for a tragic event.

“When you’re a leader … you have to be optimistic,” he said. “You have to be positive about a good outcome.”

Throughout Sunday’s rally, speaker after speaker condemned the jury selection process used in Stanley’s trial. Many, such as Chief Peter Beatty of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, said their faith in Canada’s justice system was shaken following the verdict.

Both Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) Chief Bobby Cameron and FSIN First Vice-Chief Kimberly Jonathan called for Indigenous people to seek change through peaceful means.

Afterwards, Jonathan said Boushie’s family and their lawyer had complied a list of areas they went were unfair and unjust. The FSIN plans on helping the family, who is already in Ottawa, take those issues straight to the federal government.

“We’re going to go to the hill, and (the list) will be made public as soon as we get them to the Prime Minister,” Jonathan said. “I’ve been asked, ‘do you have meetings with the Prime Minister? Did you request meetings with the Prime Minister?’ I said, ‘no. We’re going, and we will get meetings with the ministers. It’s not a question.”

Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne didn’t hesitate to weigh in on the question of judicial review either. Dionne and Ward 1 Coun. Charlene Miller represented the city at Sunday’s rally. During a brief turn at the podium, Dionne criticized the jury selection process, and urged the provincial and federal governments to look into a law that would see future juries evenly split between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

Dionne also turned his ire on “social media haters,” who he said have created an incendiary atmosphere with racist comments.

The hostile social media atmosphere was another common theme with speakers, who worried the online battles would lead to real life violence. Despite the anger in the room, almost all speakers expressed optimism for the future, but the next few days will determine if that hope is well founded.

“This is a game changer in Canada,” Jonathan said. “We just hope that this change is a win for all of us.”

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca

PAGC to hold rally in solidarity with family of Colten Boushie

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The Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) has announced plans to hold a rally in Prince Albert on Sunday in solidarity with the family of Colten Boushie.

The rally will begin at 4 p.m. at the Prince Albert Court of Queen’s bench, with supper and a candlelight vigil at the Senator Allen Bird Memorial Centre to follow.

The PAGC also issued a statement from Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte, who said they were devastated by the verdict, and called for an appeal and a closer assessment of the judicial process.

“If we are to build a fair and just society, then we must all stand together in solidarity and call for Canada – its legislative and executive judicial (bodies) – to expedite this change through purposeful dialogue and concrete policies on matters ranging from policing to jury selection to Indigenous representation,” Hardlotte stated. “To this end, a full public inquiry into this case, and a judicial inquest into the larger issues within the justice system, are necessary in order to achieve lasting solutions that will benefit all.”

Boushie was 22-years-old when he died on Aug. 9, 2016 after being shot by Gerald Stanley on Stanley’s farm near Biggar, Sask. Boushie and four friends had come to the farm after sustaining a flat tire while traveling to Red Pheasant First Nation. All five had been drinking.

During the trial, Stanley said he did not intend to shoot Boushie, and that he thought his gun was empty when he approach the vehicle. Stanley had already fired off two warning shots before the shooting occurred.

On Friday, Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in connection with Boushie’s death. Upset residents have held demonstrations across the country following the verdict, including one on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.

Raiders break Ice with late winner

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It’s been a long time since Jordy Stallard found himself that wide open in front of the net, but the Raider assistant captain isn’t complaining.

Stallard’s goal with a mere 1:18 left to play in the third period gave the Prince Albert Raiders a 4-3 victory over a resilient Kootenay Ice squad on Friday. The late winner, off a feed from Cole Fonstad, was an appropriate end to a game characterized by risky plays and defensive miscues.

Afterwards, Stallard said the 2-on-0 with Fonstad was an unexpected, but welcome, turn of events.

“We both made eye contact and we were like,’ what’s going on?’” Stallard chuckled. “It happens like that sometimes. I’m just thankful we could get the win.”

Relief was the most common theme after the Ice gave the home side all they could handle by battling back from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits.

Stallard said they’ll take the victory, but stressed that the Raiders need to be better down the stretch.

“Any two points we can get right now is huge, but it definitely wasn’t a solid game by us,” he said. “It was an ugly one, but we found a way to win and that’s all that matters.”

Those sentiments extended to Raiders coach Marc Habscheid, who also expressed a mixture of happiness and frustration following the game. The Raider bench boss praised his team for their aggressive play during the opening minutes of the first period, but emphasized the need for more consistent play.

“It’s a winning business and it’s about getting points, but I’d say we escaped that game with the win,” he said afterwards. “It wasn’t the type of game we’ve been playing lately.”

Wednesday’s contest didn’t look like it would turn into a cagey one-goal affair early on. The Raiders came roaring out of the gate, outshooting the visitors 6-0 and taking an early 1-0 lead on Stallard’s first of the night from Regan Nagy and Curtis Miske.

The Raiders later extended their lead on the power play, when Miske fired home a quick one-timer on a lovely cross-ice pass from Vojtech Budik.

However, the jubilation was short lived.

A Raider turnover just inside the Kootenay blueline gave Ice forward Cameron Hausinger a breakaway just seconds later. Hausinger’s shot beat Raider netminder Ian Scott glove side to make it 2-1.

The Ice then tied things up in the second, when Sebastian Streu beat a sprawling Scott following a blocked pass attempt on a 2-on-1.

Spencer Moe restored the Raider lead in the third, when he slammed a rebound past Ice goalie Duncan McGovern during a hectic goalmouth scramble. The goal gave Prince Albert a 3-2 lead heading into the third, but Alec Baer’s tally at 8:04 tied the score back up.

“I give Kootenay credit. I thought through the first two periods, for the most part, we were better, but I thought in the third they were much better than us,” Habscheid said. “ We made some risky plays, (some) not good decisions, but like I said, it’s about winning and we found the resiliency.”

In total, Kootenay outshot Prince Albert 9-3 in the final period, but were unable to solve Scott, who made a number of key saves to keep the game tied.

That set the stage for Stallard and Fonstad, who found themselves in all alone behind the Ice defence late in the game.

“Fonny kind of faked out their whole team there and it seemed like we had a 2-on-0,” Stallard said. “He just made a great pass over to me and I was able to find the net.”

Scott made 20 saves in a winning effort for Prince Albert, while McGovern made 30 stops in a losing cause.

The win gives Prince Albert a 22-20-9-2 record on the year, and helps them keep pace with the Saskatoon Blades, who beat Kootenay 5-3 on Tuesday. The Blades are Raiders are tied for the last playoff spot with 55 points each.

The loss means Kootenay’s record falls to 23-28-3-0. They currently sit six points up on the Red Deer Rebels for the Central Division’s third seed.

The Raiders are back in action on Friday when they travel to Swift Current to take on the Broncos. Puck drop is 7 p.m. The Raiders then take on the Blades in Saskatoon on Saturday before taking on the Broncos in Prince Albert on Sunday.

The fast and the furious … and the frozen

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Prince Albert resident Albert Ratti is kicking back and relaxing after whirling around an oval track located roughly a kilometer south of MacDowall for most of Saturday afternoon.

He’s one of roughly 60 competitors who braved the cold and the wind to race snowmobiles older than all of the kids and a few of the adults in attendance. The atmosphere is warm and friendly inside the MacDowall Lions Recreation Centre, where many of the racers have gathered to listen to the final results. That marks a start contrast from where it was just a few hours earlier.

“When you’re out there, it’s race time,” Ratti chuckles. “It’s game on.”

Although they’re a competitive bunch, racers also have a friendly side that extends to spectators, paramedics and yes, even their fellow drivers.

Ratti says they all share a passion for racing and snowmobiles, which means the post-race talk quickly turns to logistics or mechanical problems. Everyone’s competitive, he says, but they also love to help.

“This is a great group of people that we have racing with us,” he explains. “Everybody is willing to help everybody else out and make their day successful too.”

Ratti runs a super-stock sled that was originally built in 1975. That means it has a few safety updates to things like the skies and rear suspension. However, the engine has to be original, at least externally. On the inside, full modifications are allowed.

It’s this mechanical aspect that Ratti enjoys the most.

“The best thing is testing my mechanical abilities (and) making something go fast,” he says.

For racers like Ratti, speed is the name of the game, but for venue hosts and race organizers, it’s all about the weather. The previous three years of racing ran from picturesque conditions with powder snow, to warm weather systems that turned the track to slush.

On one occasion, the MacDowall race was cancelled outright, but balancing the ever-changing weather patterns is something drivers and venue hosts learn to deal with.

“Our first year was kind of wishy-washy,” remembers MacDowall and District Recreation Foundation chairman Dwayne Neudorf. “We were new. We didn’t know what (to expect). Every year is different because of the weather.”

Neudorf and the recreation foundation are responsible for hosting the MacDowall race every year. It’s just one stop on the Saskatchewan Vintage Oval Racing Association’s (SAVORA) provincial circuit.

Saturday’s weather didn’t faze him, and he’s glad to see it didn’t faze the spectators either.

“With the temperature today, I was pleased with the people who showed up. It was cold. It was windy,” he says, then stops and begins chuckling. “The snowmobilers like it. They like the cold weather, but the spectators, well…”

In total, Neudorf estimates that 400 people came through the gate on Saturday, judging by the number of wristbands given out and waiver forms signed. They’ll have to wait a few more months for the final financial results, but thanks to volunteers and “diehard sledders,” he’s hopeful things will turn out well.

But even if they don’t, he’s grateful that they came out scot-free in the most important area.

“We had a lot of sleds this year, and we had no accidents,” he says. “The ambulance was quite.”

Vermette sentenced for role in 2015 murder of Troy Napope

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The second man involved in the 2015 murder of Troy Napope will spend at least two decades behind bars.

On Tuesday, Braidy Chase Vermette pled guilty to the charge of second-degree murder at the Prince Albert Court of Queen’s Bench. He was sentenced to life in prison, with no chance at parole for the next 20 years.

Vermette also pled guilty to charges stemming from an incident in March 2016, when he escaped corrections officers during a trip to Victoria Hospital. He was sentenced to seven years in prison for that charge. Both sentences will run concurrently.

Napope was last seen at a party in Prince Albert in the early morning hours of May 28, 2015. The burned out shell of his car was discovered on May 29, although at the time, police did not realize the two incidents were connected. He was reported missing on June 6. The RCMP’s Major Crime Unit North and the Prince Albert Police Service conducted two major searches in January and February 2016 to try and find his body.

In May 2017, Skylar Patrick Bird also received a life sentence for his role in Napope’s death. Bird pled guilty to second-degree murder, with the chance of parole in 10 years.

Repair Café ready to take off

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After more than two months of planning, Prince Albert’s first Repair Café is ready to get down to business.

Starting in March, Repair Café Prince Albert will hold monthly meetings where volunteer repair experts help fix household items that would otherwise be thrown away. All repairs are made for free.

Café organizer Lillis Lawrence said the goal is to reduce the amount of waste in the community, while chipping away at what she called society’s “throw away attitude.”

“Many items have very little wrong with them and could easily be used again after a simple repair,” Lawrence explained. “Unfortunately, many people have forgotten the art of fixing.”

The Repair Café concept first began in the Netherlands almost 10 years ago. Since then, more than 1,400 have sprung up around the world, including 25 in Canada. According to www.repaircafe.org, the Prince Albert café will be the first in Saskatchewan.

Lawrence decided to start a repair café after seeing similar free repair services offered to cyclists during a trip to Montreal. That trip planted an idea that blossomed back in Prince Albert.

“That spurred me into thinking, ‘well, it’s not just bicycles that we can keep maintained,’” she said. “There are also other items in our household that we could likely extend the life of that item by possibly repairing (them). It’s that old saying, ‘a stitch in time saves nine.’”

After meeting with interested community members on Jan. 13, Lawrence and others set March 3 as the first date for their new endeavor. She’s cautiously optimistic about the project, but said they’ll need to see how the first few repair dates go before committing to a permanent future.

“There are quite a few people in Prince Albert who are interested in repairing things and passing on that knowledge to others,” Lawrence explained. “Hopefully that comes through in the following repair cafés that we have.”

The group already has plans to hold at least one other Repair Café event in April, however they day and location have not been set. Lawrence said they’re willing to be flexible when it comes to when and where they go next.

The first Prince Albert Repair Café will take place at the Margo Fournier Gym on Saturday, March 3 from 1-4 p.m. For more information, or to become a volunteer, email repaircafeprincealbert@gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.

City stumbles upon possible loophole in vehicle impound rules

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It began as a way to raise revenue, but after one month of operation, Saskatchewan’s first municipal impound lot is raising questions as well as cash.

On Jan. 1, the City of Prince Albert began operating its own SGI approved impound lot, with the goal of offsetting the rising costs of policing (Prince Albert’s $16.5 million police budget accounts for roughly 20 per cent of total spending). However, administrators started noticing two other trends besides increased revenue. The first was the larger-than-expected number of vehicles impounded under Saskatchewan’s impaired driving laws. The second was the slow but steady stream of impounded vehicles being granted early release.

“It’s kind of a catch-22,” said Steve Brown, the city’s finance director. “You’re excited because the city is generating money off of it … but at the same time it’s disappointing.”

In the first three weeks of 2018, 57 vehicles were impounded in Prince Albert’s city lot, with 10 being impounded for violating Saskatchewan’s impaired driving laws. Under those laws, vehicles can be held for 30 or 60 days, depending on the severity of the offence. For example, any driver who blows a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of .16 gets their vehicle impounded for 60 days — or at least they’re supposed to.

During that same three-week time period, five vehicles were released early after appeals to the Highway Traffic Board. Three of those vehicles were involved in impaired driving cases. In almost all cases, the city was ordered to release the vehicles after only two to four days in the impound lot.

Brown and other city administrators overseeing the program say those early releases won’t have a major affect on the project’s bottom line, but there are public health and social well-being concerns.

“You’re not just looking at the revenue side,” Brown explained. “We’re starting to see the social impact of all this going on.”

In Saskatchewan, few owners see their impounded vehicles released early. According to numbers provided by the Ministry of Justice, the Highway Traffic Board released 12 per cent of all vehicles that were impounded last year between January and November. However, what few appeals claims there are have been highly successful.

For the first 11 months of 2017, 7,606 vehicles were impounded for a variety of infractions, including impaired driving or driving without a licence. Those impounds resulted in 1,113 HTB hearings, with 912, or roughly 82 per cent, ending with owners getting their vehicles released early.

It’s not a one-year blip on the radar either. In 2016, 1,646 vehicle impound hearings were held; with 1,314 resulting in owners getting their vehicle back early.

The appeals process can begin within a day or two of a vehicle being seized, and rulings are often given the same day as the hearing. Those hearings are conducted over the phone, with two HTB board members who make the ruling, and an HTB coordinator who does administrative work before and after the case.

The high number of successful appeals has community leaders like Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne concerned that tough laws surrounding unlicensed or impaired drivers aren’t as tough as they seem.

“They’re misleading the majority of the population when they say they’re seizing these cars for 30 days or 60 days,” Dionne said. “We have two ministries that are not working together. We have SGI that is trying to stop (violations) and we have the Highway Traffic Board letting them off.”

The appeals process is quick, but not easy. For one thing, it can be expensive. Residents have to pay $175 just to appeal the case, and even if they’re successful, they still have to fork out an additional $125 to SGI for a Vehicle Impound Release Certificate.

Those who do appeal are also responsible for proving to the HTB that they need the vehicles, or that they were not party to the infraction. For example, successful appeals have been filed where the impounded vehicle is needed for urgent medical appointments, or when the impounded vehicle is used by multiple family members who live in rural areas and cannot use public transportation. In other cases, owners have successfully appealed the punishment after loaning their vehicle out to someone who lied about having a valid licence.

When asked about the high success rate of appeals, and whether the $175 fee helped ward off frivolous cases, an HTB representative said the board could not speculate on why residents may or may not decide to appeal.

These appeals fall under a variety of classifications such as serious health threats or extreme hardships. However, Dionne said the point of tough laws is to make people think twice about driving impaired or without a licence. Letting people off after giving up their car for a few days isn’t cutting it.

“The deterrent of taking people’s vehicle for 30 days was to cause a hardship,” Dionne said. “It was to cause a hardship, and I’m not hiding that fact. It’s going to teach you a lesson. Giving their car back in two days almost says (things like) impaired driving aren’t too bad.”

Dionne added that he’d already raised the issue with the provincial government and Prince Albert Carlton MLA Joe Hargrave, who also serves as the Minister for Saskatchewan Government Agency (SGI). During a phone interview on Friday, Hargrave said he was aware of the issue, and had already scheduled a meeting with Ministry of Justice officials to discuss whether there was a loophole in Saskatchewan’s impaired driving laws.

If there is, Hargrave said he’s ready to “jump in with both feet,” but he wants to see a full breakdown of the data first. That would include information on just how many successful appeals are related specifically to impaired driving.

“It could cost you time on the job. It could cost you some not so good discussions with your significant other, or whoever’s car you’re driving,” Hargrave said when asked about impounded vehicles causing hardship. “If that’s the case (that there is a loophole,) I’ll be chatting with (the Ministry of) Justice as to how we get that situation corrected.”

Hargrave said he knew that there was an HTB appeals process, although he said it was designed for specific circumstances, like with rental companies who had vehicles impounded due to the actions of their customers. But for other community leaders, like Dionne, the news has been more of a surprise.

However, one person who wasn’t surprised was Lyle Janzen. He’s a tow-truck driver in his 60s who operates out of Prince Albert and Saskatoon. Janzen works with the City of Prince Albert on its impound lot, and has known about the appeals process for years.

“I understand early release,” he says slowly, before quickly adding. “You already took the guy’s car. Just keep it.”

Janzen began driving tow-trucks for a living as a teenager. He gets paid for how long an impounded vehicle stays in his yard, and if those cars would go unclaimed, he gets money from the auction sale.

There was a time when fewer successful appeals would have meant more money in his pocket, but Janzen doesn’t approach this as a businessman. For him, it’s personal too.

His father was also a tow-truck driver, right up until the day an impaired driver hit and killed him roughly 30 km north of Prince Albert. He was in his tow-truck when it happened.

“If you went out through these cars here, every fifth car is going to have a beer bottle in the back of it somewhere,” Janzen said, gesturing to a line of wrecked cars in the impound lot behind him. “(Impaired driving) just seems to happen a lot and I would imagine come summer it gets worse up here, but we’ll see.”

Janzen’s wife is optimistic that impaired driving is becoming less common in Saskatchewan, but that’s an outlook he doesn’t share. Still, he hopes for the best. Years ago he even started a program call Mistle-tows with his fellow tow-truck drivers where they tow cars home for free on New Year’s Eve.

For him, getting a DUI would cost him his livelihood, but he’s not so sure the current laws are enough.

“I think people have become better at hiding what they’re doing,” he said.

@kerr_jas • jason.kerr@paherald.sk.ca