Brody Langager, Saskatoon StarPhoenix
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe talked about tariffs, extra policing and an expansion to rural healthcare incentives while speaking at Monday’s SUMA convention in Saskatoon.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Moe announced an additional 100 provincially-funded municipal police officers across the seven communities in Saskatchewan that have a municipal police force.
“In addition to that, adding another 185 RCMP officers to the RCMP ranks that serve largely the rural communities across this province.”
He also announced 70 additional Saskatchewan Marshals into the enforcement ranks.
Moe made sure to note that the new Marshals positions don’t replace officer positions elsewhere within the RCMP or municipal police forces.
Many of the crimes being seen in communities right now are a result of people who have fallen into addiction, Moe said.
He said those individuals need support, and he’ll do so by removing drug dealers from Saskatchewan communities.
“We need to get the drugs out of the hands of the dealers, and then we need to get the drug dealers out of our communities.”
He called the drugs seen on the streets today “poison”, adding that the provincial government is giving tools to communities to keep themselves safe.
“Our goal is for families to have the ability after supper to go for a walk in the park and play with their children and grandchildren, and to do so without fear.”
HEALTHCARE
Moe said they are working to add more healthcare workers in Saskatchewan, adding that the Minister of Health, Jeremy Cockrill, announced Monday that there would be an expansion to the Rural and Remote Recruitment Incentive.
Sixteen communities were added, including places like Pinehouse Lake, Raymore, Spiritwood and Wakaw.
The incentive includes $50,000 for a three-year return-in-service and is offered to new, permanent full-time employees in nine high-priority health occupations.
“We need to do more in a very tight national market,” Moe said, adding that they have seen some headway in recruitment across the province.
TARIFFS
“The very source of our wealth is the value of our exports.”
Moe said Saskatchewan offers food security and energy security, and he has been spending a lot of time in Washington, D.C. speaking with policy-makers and industry leaders about U.S. President Donald Trump’s “on again, off again, chaotic tariff requirement that he is choosing to continue.”
He said the trade relationship with the U.S. is important, and that consequences from these tariffs that will hurt Canadian businesses, but will also shut down refineries in Ohio and Illinois.
Moe said Saskatchewan exports to over 160 countries around the world.
NDP RESPONSE
NDP leader Carla Beck weighed in on Moe’s speech, saying he is comfortable punching down or speaking about other levels of government, but doesn’t address issues within his own caucus.
“What I’ve heard time and time again already from municipal leaders here is this is not a time in our history, with all that we’re facing, that we should be pointing fingers,” Beck said.
She said community safety is a big issue in Saskatchewan right now, but that resources going towards the Marshals should have gone to RCMP instead.
“When the Marshals service was announced we heard from community after community and frontline officers, that this was a solution that no one asked for.
“The frontline police officers will tell you this is not the time to be spending more money buying new equipment, putting money into cars, and uniforms, and hats and all of these things when we need to have people deployed right away,” Beck added.
She said Moe seems to have noticed that we have a drug crisis in Saskatchewan.
“We have lost 60 people in Saskatoon this year alone.”
Beck said Saskatoon’s chief of police almost a decade ago had presented data with a sense of urgency that showed a rise in drug use and crime.
She said the problem has been ignored and has been allowed to fester, making it extremely difficult to address now.
