Sask. NDP wants to scrap marshals service as part of 'tough-on-crime' platform

Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck says she plans to scrap the province's marshals service if her party forms government this fall. 

The marshals service was first proposed in 2022 and is expected to launch by the end of 2026. It's intended to focus on rural crime, gangs and guns, arresting people with outstanding warrants and assisting RCMP and municipal police when called. 

It's also been criticized by the RCMP's union for taking away money that it says should be used to fund existing police resources. Earlier this month, that union, the National Police Federation, sent a letter to Premier Scott Moe, signed by nearly 90 municipalities across the province, urging a pause on the proposed service and citing issues like a lack of transparency and accountability. 

So far, the Saskatchewan government has provided the service with $14 million in funding. It's expected to cost $20 million per year once it's fully operational. 

"We've already spent $20 million on this service for things like logos and some of the background work, when what we needed was boots on the ground right away," said Beck. 

Scrapping the marshals service was part of a four-point "tough-on-crime" plan the Opposition leader revealed on Friday, after officially kicking off its election campaign on Thursday.

"The reality is that in too many communities, large and small in this province, people are not feeling safe. They're not feeling that the government is responding to the issues," she said. 

Beck said if her party wins this fall's election, an NDP government would invest in mental health and addictions services in order to tackle some of the root causes of crime. 

She also proposed a new "unexplained wealth" task force that would go after organized crime and drug traffickers, and a $2-million rebate program for small businesses and places of worship to help install security upgrades like alarms and doorbell cameras.

Beck officially launched the NDP's election campaign this week.

The governing Saskatchewan Party has not officially started its campaign, but has been holding news conferences on a nearly daily basis in the past two weeks. 

Saskatchewan's election is to be held on or before Oct. 28.