Saskatchewan’s NDP Opposition is accusing the newly created Saskatchewan Marshals Service<\/strong> of recruiting officers away from municipal police departments and RCMP detachments, arguing the practice is straining local law enforcement rather than solving the province’s policing shortage.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Nicole Sarauer<\/strong>, the NDP’s justice and community safety critic, made the allegations at a news conference on Tuesday, saying multiple municipalities have raised concerns with the Official Opposition \u2014 though she declined to name them specifically.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Of the Marshals Service’s current 27 officers, Sarauer said only two are newly recruited. The remaining 25 were drawn from other law enforcement agencies already operating in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “Poaching police officers from one police force in this province to another isn’t addressing policing shortages,” Sarauer said. “Moving an officer down the highway and giving them a new hat is simply a coverup for Moe’s inability to meaningfully address crime.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sarauer also raised financial concerns. Under the existing federal-provincial agreement, the province covers 70 per cent<\/strong> of the cost of each new RCMP officer, with Ottawa funding the remainder along with infrastructure and resources. Provincial marshals, by contrast, are funded entirely by Saskatchewan taxpayers.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “Instead of real solutions, we see a government trying to hide their own mismanagement by shifting around already existing resources and pretending that they’ve created something new, all the while costing taxpayers more,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Saskatchewan RCMP declined to address the poaching allegations directly, citing privacy considerations around what officers “may do after retirement or resignation.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Michael Weger<\/strong>, Saskatchewan’s community safety minister, pushed back against the NDP’s characterization, telling reporters in Saskatoon that the marshals serve as a supplement to existing police services rather than a replacement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n “The RCMP still remain the police of jurisdiction. This is just an added connection,” Weger said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Weger acknowledged that recruitment remains a challenge across all police services in the province. He noted that candidates must complete a six-month training program at the police college before becoming a marshal.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n In a follow-up statement Tuesday afternoon, Weger announced that training capacity at the Saskatchewan Police College<\/strong> is being expanded, with recruit training positions for 2026 increasing to 96 \u2014 up 50 per cent from the historical annual average. The province also launched a national advertising campaign earlier this year to attract candidates to policing careers in Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Weger outlined the province’s broader policing expenditures for the current year, including:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/p>\n The Saskatchewan government announced plans for the Marshals Service in 2023, proposing a force of 70 officers<\/strong> to work alongside RCMP and other law enforcement to combat rural crime, gangs, illegal weapons and drugs, and to apprehend high-risk offenders with outstanding warrants. With 27 officers currently in place, the province says it is still working to fill the remaining 43 positions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The service is also establishing formal agreements with First Nations communities. As of April, the marshals had signed band council resolutions or received expressions of interest from 21 First Nations<\/strong> across the province. Weger described those resolutions as “essentially an invitation to the marshals to attend on their traditional land.”<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Sarauer argued the marshals are currently being deployed too broadly, from security at music festivals to assisting in manhunts, and said the service needs a more focused mandate. “What they are now has become a bit of a catch-all to address any sort of issue that seems to crop up in terms of public safety in Saskatchewan,” she said.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Opposition says new provincial police force is reshuffling existing officers rather than addressing shortages Saskatchewan’s NDP Opposition is accusing the newly created Saskatchewan Marshals Service of recruiting officers away from municipal police departments and RCMP detachments, arguing the practice is straining local law enforcement rather than solving the province’s policing shortage. Nicole Sarauer, the NDP’s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nMost marshals transferred from existing forces<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Province defends the marshals program<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Significant policing investments cited<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
Marshals Service still well short of its target<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n