Committee’s report on crime reduction coming soon

Premier Brad Wall has said the committee was formed to address the significant concerns over crime he has heard as he travelled around Saskatchewan and hopes the group will be able to help improve the situation.

The committee’s meetings included stops in North Battleford and Meadow Lake, with Cox indicating he heard the same concerns in North Battleford as he heard across the province.

“Crime is crime, but there are different things in different areas,” he said. “It was different in the rural areas than it was in the urban.”

Property crime is a major issue in for the more rural sections of the province in particular.

“There are so many root causes of crime we heard about across the province, and some of those things will be addressed in the recommendations,” he added.

While all the details of the committee’s findings will be released in an upcoming report, Cox did say the committee agrees people shouldn’t take matters into their own hands.

“That’s not what this is about,” the MLA added. “This is trying to find partly what the root causes are, and what can be done to curb some of it.”

The issue of rural crime has been at the forefront in recent months.

The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) raised the issue at its convention in the spring. One of the resolutions passed called for lobbying the federal government to expand individuals’ rights to protect themselves and their property, citing an increase in crime in rural communities.

Another SARM resolution was to lobby the RCMP to dedicate resources to deal with agricultural-related thefts.

A Facebook page called “Farmers with Firearms” has also raised concerns among officials over the risk of people taking the law into their own hands.

In news reports, the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN) had stated it opposed the SARM resolution related to defending one’s property that appears to place property value over human life.

Saskatchewan Justice Minister Gordon Wyant has said the province would oppose such legislation proposed by SARM. The RCMP have also said they are opposed to farmers taking matters into their own hands.

On Aug. 9, 2016, a 22-year-old First Nation man, Colten Boushie, was fatally shot in a farmer’s yard in Biggar, Sask.

Gerald Stanley, 55, is facing a charge of second-degree murder related to the incident. Stanley has pleaded not guilty to the charge. A trial date for the case is still to be set. The allegations have not been proved in court.

When the report is completed it will be directed to the Minister of Justice, and appear before cabinet prior to coming to the public.

The province allocated $1 million in its recent budget to respond to the recommendations of the Caucus Committee on Crime Reduction.

angela.brown@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @battlefordsNOW

by Angela Brown

Committee’s report on crime reduction coming soon

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