Sask. NDP pledges to scrap Marshals service as campaign announcements continue

The Saskatchewan NDP says it will scrap the upcoming Saskatchewan Marshals Service if elected this fall in its latest campaign announcement ahead of the provincial election.

"Not that long ago, Saskatchewan was the kind of place where you were able to leave your doors unlocked, where people felt safe in their homes and their businesses and in their neighbourhood. Unfortunately, nowadays that isn't the case for too many," NDP leader Carla Beck said.

"Under Scott Moe and the Sask. Party we now have the highest rate of violent crime in the entire country, and their solution? A marshal service that no one asked for."

Beck unveiled a series of "tough on crime" initiatives Friday, which includes hiring more police officers and investing in mental health and addictions with the money spent on the Marshal service, launching a task force aimed at organized crime and drug traffickers, and a rebate program to cover security costs like alarms, cameras and motion sensor lights.

"It's time to get tough on crime and tough on the causes of crime," Beck said.

The marshal service was announced at the throne speech in November 2022 and will consist of roughly 70 officers with an annual budget of $20 million by the time it is operational in 2026.

The provincial police force, the SMS will consist of approximately 70 officers and is expected to respond to areas with high crime rates, enforce outstanding arrest warrants, and investigate rural crime.

Beck says the money could be better spent on mental health and addictions rather than the creation of an entirely new police service.

"We've already spent $20 million on the service for things like -- I'm not sure -- logos and some of the background work when what we needed was boots on the ground right away," she said.

The announcement comes a day after Beck launched her provincial election campaign by promising not to raise taxes during her first time if elected.

Ken Coates, a political scientist and professor at the University of Saskatchewan's Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, says while August may seem early for parties to hit the campaign trail -- in modern politics, the campaigning never stops.

"It actually has become almost a permanent feature of political life," Coates said.

Rather than having a period of dedicated campaigning after the writ dropped and a dedicated governing period surrounding that, political parties are constantly polling to be aware of opportunities and vulnerabilities.

"And what happens is that parties are trying to sort of let loose some of their early announcements now to sort of try to level the playing field on both sides," he said.

"The whole idea there is to sort of get that issue off the table."

For example, Coates says before the Sask. Party could criticize the NDP of raising taxes, the NDP got ahead of the narrative and announced its no tax hike guarantee.

Earlier this week, the province made a series of announcements regarding healthcare and education before kids head back to school after the Labour Day long weekend.

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Coates says both parties actively campaigning might not be capturing the attention of voters so many weeks before the Oct. 28 election.

"I think most Canadians are tired of the expansion of the electoral season and tired of the expansion of the campaign beyond the boundaries of the actual election itself," he said. "And most folks would sort of say there's still a province to govern the province until you drop the writ."

Coates says in a world of social media and instant information at your fingertips, parties aren't able to control the narrative like they once did, so parties are more willing to hold many events year-round.

"We've got just in your face, not just in time, but just in your face politicking," Coates said.

Another factor could be the legal spending limits parties must follow during an election.

"Money and other resources spent campaigning now are not going to have as much of an impact as money and resources spent a month from now. At the same (time), there are legal limits to what parties can spend during an election, so if they have the extra money, there's probably no harm (at least from the parties' perspectives) to using that money to start campaigning now," U of S political studies professor Daniel Westlake said.

Coates says both parties will still leave plenty of big announcements with potential to sway voters closer to voting day.

"They're not looking for home runs. They're really just trying to sort of get on people's good side," he said.

Both parties aren't expected to make any announcements or campaign promises over the long weekend, but with Labour Day marking the unofficial end of summer in Saskatchewan, the campaigning is expected to continue in earnest in September.