Community safety officer program to be piloted on-reserve in Saskatchewan
CBC
More First Nations communities in Saskatchewan may soon see community safety officers patrolling.
Saskatchewan's provincial budget, released last month, included a $1-million increase for on-reserve policing and enhanced policing, bringing provincial spending there to $18.3 million in 2022. Some of that money will go to a pilot project to bring community safety officers (CSOs) to reserves in Saskatchewan.
Three officers will be positioned in Muskoday First Nation, just southeast of Prince Albert.
Chief Ava Bear said the community deals with many crime problems similar to Prince Albert and some of the same issues rural communities face.
"We see the CSO officers as being able to enhance community safety — for our whole community," Bear told CBC News.
The community safety officers will be able to use various policing tools available in Saskatchewan, Bear said, like the traffic safety act or mental health act, while also enforcing various parts of Muskoday's own laws created through community legislation.
The goal, she said, is to cut down on the overall number of crimes in Muskoday, with the community safety officers acting as more sets of eyes.
In assessing the project's future, Bear said that when the pilot project is complete in about two years time, she'd be looking to the number and nature of crimes within Muskoday, and the tickets issued by the officers.
Bear said she'd like to see band members hired into CSO roles and pointed to training available in Prince Albert. Ultimately, anyone with the proper training would be welcomed into the role in Muskoday, she said.
Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations Chief Bobby Cameron said he was happy to see Saskatchewan investing more money into First Nations policing.
A million dollars, he said, was a good start.
Communities will benefit by having more protection from the illegal sales of drugs — and in some communities alcohol — which he said have killed far more First Nations people in Canada than COVID-19 has and will.
He said the province must seek First Nations guidance if it wants the money to be well-invested.
"If there is no First Nation inclusion it will fail," Cameron said.
Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney says he'd run a deficit to 'invest and grow' Canada's economy
Liberal leadership hopeful Mark Carney confirmed Sunday that a federal government led by him would run a deficit "to invest and grow" Canada's economy, but it would also balance its operational spending over the next three years.
The St. Anthony, N.L., Boys and Girls club is "starting to dream about what's possible to make the community even stronger" after its building was destroyed by a fire, said national CEO Owen Charters.
Groundhog Day: The Musical, based on the 1993 Bill Murray film, is having its Canadian premiere in Sudbury., following stints in London and New York.
A vacant north-end Halifax building that was previously described as an "immediate safety risk" by a fire inspector caught fire early Sunday.
This is part of a series called Ann's Eye, featuring the work of Ann Paul, a Wolastoqey content creator. You can see more Ann's Eye pieces by clicking here.
Olivier Soumis's green canvas tent sits in the middle of the frozen St. Lawrence River, providing a stark pop of colour against the muted tones of the snow and the open water in the distance.
A debate over how to adjudicate Treaty 4 rights was at the core of a federal court hearing in Manitoba this week.
Kael Flynn is the scion of a Saskatoon fashion dynasty, but the 22-year-old is more concerned with perfecting his curveball than selling suits.
The Regina Humane Society celebrated its first year in its new building on Saturday.
Beekeepers in Alberta's Peace region are watching nervously as the threat of a trade war looms.
In a world of shrinking margins and shuttered breweries, the last thing the craft beer industry in British Columbia needs is a tariff pushing up the price of the humble beer can.
Hamilton and the surrounding area is under a winter storm warning as up to 25 centimetres of snow is expected to accumulate Sunday, says Environment Canada.
With snow hammering Toronto overnight Saturday, Environment Canada is warning that the heaviest snowfall is still to come and travel conditions could "rapidly deteriorate" Sunday morning.