Prince Albert city council has asked administration to look into whether the City can recover some municipal costs linked to illicit drug production and trafficking under new provincial legislation.
Council approved a motion from Coun. Dawn Kilmer during last week’s regular meeting directing administration to consult with the Prince Albert Police Service, the city solicitor and other Saskatchewan cities.
The report will outline the parts of The Response to Illicit Drugs Act that apply to municipalities, what categories of municipal costs may be eligible for recovery, and how those costs could be documented and tracked.
The motion also asks administration to examine the role of police, city administration and legal counsel in identifying and pursuing potential claims, along with any staffing, legal, financial or resource implications tied to setting up such a process. It also asks for opportunities to work with other Saskatchewan municipalities and municipal organizations on a common framework, best practices and advocacy positions.
“With this new act that is in place, there is a lot of possibilities for municipalities that we should explore,” Kilmer told council.
Kilmer said Prince Albert should not try to develop the process by itself.
“I think it’s really important for us to reach out to other municipalities in Saskatchewan and come up with a similar process,” she said.
Kilmer said municipalities can often spend money supporting police, fire services and residents when these issues arise. She said it may be possible to recover some of that money if there is a clear process in place, although she cautioned that may not be the case.
“Maybe we can, with a real clear, concise process, retrieve some of that money, and maybe not, but I do think it’s worth exploring,” she said.
The provincial government brought The Response to Illicit Drugs Act into force on June 1. The province said the legislation gives government and individuals harmed by illicit drug activity new legal tools to recover costs from people involved in the production, trafficking, importing or exporting of highly addictive drugs.
The province said the legislation does not apply to simple possession offences.
The motion also follows a recent Prince Albert Police Service drug trafficking investigation. At a May 28 press conference, police said the Crime Reduction Team, Proactive Policing Unit, Saskatchewan Trafficking Response Team and RCMP Crime Reduction Team had concluded a four-week investigation into a drug trafficking network operating in Prince Albert and surrounding communities. Police said the investigation resulted in the seizure of cocaine, methamphetamine, firearms and cash, with 10 people arrested and six charged. Kilmer’s motion did not cite that case or identify a specific dollar amount, but asks administration to determine how municipal costs connected to illicit drug production and trafficking could be tracked and potentially recovered.
Prince Albert has also received senior-government support for several related responses, including federal and provincial programs tied to addictions, homelessness, emergency shelter services and community safety. Health Canada’s Emergency Treatment Fund is aimed at helping municipalities and Indigenous communities respond to urgent substance use and overdose needs, while the federal Substance Use and Addictions Program provides funding to governments, community-led groups and non-profits for prevention, harm reduction and treatment projects.
The province’s 2026-27 budget also includes funding for mental health and addictions services, a Complex Needs Facility in Prince Albert, emergency shelters, outreach services and other community-based homelessness supports. Kilmer’s motion, however, deals with a different question: whether the City can recover municipal costs directly tied to illicit drug production and trafficking under the new provincial legislation.
Kilmer’s motion did not identify a specific Prince Albert incident or dollar amount. Instead, it asks for a report that would determine what costs could qualify and how the City would track them if it pursued claims in the future.
The motion comes as Prince Albert continues to deal with broader pressures related to drugs, addictions, homelessness and public safety.
Council earlier approved a memorandum of understanding with Health Canada for the National Wastewater Drug Surveillance Program. At that meeting, Coun. Tony Head said the program would give the city another tool to identify illicit drugs and patterns of use, while Community Safety and Well-Being Manager Anna Dinsdale said the new Health Canada program would test for the presence of 550 substances.
The Prince Albert Police Service also supported the wastewater program. In a letter to council, Chief Patrick Nogier wrote that access to emerging intelligence and analytical tools is becoming increasingly important as police respond to the evolving realities of illicit drugs, organized crime and substance-related harms.
Other recent reports have shown the city already works with police, fire, bylaw and community partners on public safety and community well-being responses. A city report on Prince Albert’s encampment strategy said the 2025 to 2026 response included the mobile Hygiene Hub, outreach services, Bylaw Services, police and fire, with Bylaw Services responding to more than 408 encampments.
The motion passed without further debate. No deadline was set for the report.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
