Public
Safety

The Problem

As affordability worsens, people become more and more desperate.

The Promise

The NCP will treat addictions not as moral failing, but as the health crisis that it is.

The NCP will treat the unhoused not as a nuisance but as government failure.

And the NCP will ensure the right people are sent for the right circumstances.

The Plan

The NCP will transform Saskatchewan's public safety system to be in line with a health-first, dignity-first model.

Amendments will be made to existing laws to address three key areas that will make our communities safer.

Houselessness:

The NCP commits to a housing-first solution. The Ministry of Social Services will be instructed to create a single coordinated case list to find and qualify unhoused people, with manageable caseloads for social workers to ensure clients do not get thrown around. The Ministry will work directly with the Saskatchewan Housing Corporation, and together they will ensure priority placements into newly renovated or acquired public housing for the unhoused, those living in encampments, and those escaping domestic violence.

New supportive housing developments will be created and operated in partnership with existing supportive housing organizations to ensure housing placement is just the first step in a healing journey. We won't just toss people with complex needs into a home and abandon them.

Housing encampments cannot be disbanded unless there are real placements for the people and their property. This means a private room and secure storage with transport to get there. Encampment residents will be given first-priority placements into new SHC units as they become available in the city where the encampment is located. No one will be forced into moving to a new town away from their supports.

Addictions:

Addictions are a health matter and we will treat the addictions crisis as the health crisis it is. As such, involuntary addictions treatment will be abolished in Saskatchewan. Treatment must be based on consent, evidence, and dignity.

The Saskatchewan Health Authority will open and operate voluntary 24/7 Addictions and Sobering Centres. Centres will be established with locations in Regina, Saskatoon, Prince Albert, with additional regional centres established as determined by need.

Each centre will offer same-day and outpatient detox treatments, like Opioid Agonist Therapy (OAT). They will also include supervised consumption services, or linked access to supervised consumption services, with service models and locations determined by the Saskatchewan Health Authority in consultation with local communities and people with lived experience.

Warm handoffs to the Ministry of Social Services for housing and other supports will always be offered so that no one leaves empty-handed. Naloxone will be offered for free, no questions asked, at any time, to anyone. All services will be free, as part of the Universal Health Plan.

• See Policy 03 - Universal Health for more.

The Government of Saskatchewan will work with the federal government and Health Canada to decriminalize small personal possession of illicit drugs, seeking a Saskatchewan-wide exemption so that federal law matches a health-first approach. Thresholds for personal possession will be determined by regulation in consultation with health experts and law enforcement. Addiction is a health issue, not a crime, and we will treat it as such.

First responders will be instructed to focus on overdose prevention and connection to care. They will not automatically seize small amounts of substances for personal use unless there is an immediate safety concern, such as risk to children. However, decriminalization does not mean public use. Public intoxication and public safety laws will be strictly enforced.

Where clinically appropriate and operationally feasible, first responders and Community Crisis Officers will transport individuals to a 24/7 Addictions and Sobering Centre or other appropriate health setting. Where transport is not necessary or feasible, responders will provide harm-reduction supplies, referrals, on-site stabilization, and follow-up connection to care as appropriate.

Provincially regulated police services will be instructed, where there is no public safety risk, to treat simple possession of small amounts of illicit substances for personal use as their lowest priority issue. Instead, officers will be expected to issue warnings, provide referrals or health-based responses, and focus enforcement on trafficking, exploitation, and serious violence instead.

All provincially regulated or certified first aid equipment kits must contain overdose reversal medications like naloxone.

First Responders:

The Saskatchewan Marshals will be disbanded. Their funding will be redirected to a new team of first responders called Community Crisis Officers (CCOs). This will allow cops to be cops again, not social workers who waste their policing time waiting in hospitals for a release form.

These Community Crisis Officers (CCOs) will be managed by the Ministry of Health as well as the Saskatchewan Health Authority, and will be made up of professionals such as:

• Mental health workers.
• Social workers.
• Paramedics.
• Peer support workers with lived experience.

New provincial dispatch standards and agreements will be made to ensure that 911 dispatchers can triage calls by risk and need. Mental health crises, intoxication, welfare checks, and similar 911 calls will be directed to the Community Crisis Officers first, before police. Police will instead be dispatched to higher-risk calls, or when specifically requested to accompany Community Crisis Officers or other first responders, should they feel there is any safety risk at all. To be absolutely clear, Community Crisis Officers will only be dispatched to calls where the 911 dispatcher has assessed there to be low risk of violence.

Police will see new standards made in partnership with their unions to strengthen public trust. All police officers in Saskatchewan will be duty-bound by law to meet clear de-escalation requirements, with a duty to intervene when a colleague is escalating a situation unnecessarily. Militarized equipment will continue to be restricted to properly trained Emergency Response Teams (ERT) under strict rules, never to be used for routine policing. Random street checks or carding will be prohibited. Police will be required for any and all stops to collect stop-level data and publish it every quarter. This data must include:

• Age
• Race (self-reported by the stopped individual, not officer)
• Indigenous Status (as defined in the Statistics Canada Census)
• Outcome
• Context of the stop
• and additional factors as determined by regulation

All police officers will receive ongoing training in de-escalation, trauma-informed response, and anti-racism, with training standards developed in partnership with police services and community organizations.

The Province will work with rural municipalities, First Nations governments, and Tribal Councils to develop culturally appropriate crisis response and addictions services, respecting rural limitations, Indigenous jurisdiction, and supporting Indigenous-led healing approaches. Funding will be provided for on-reserve crisis response capacity where requested by rural and First Nations leadership.

The Funding

Community Crisis Officers will be funded through a combination of redirected funding from the disbanded Saskatchewan Marshals, health spending under the Universal Health Plan, and General Revenue Fund support where required. The 24/7 Addictions and Sobering Centres will be funded primarily through the health system as part of Saskatchewan's broader expansion of mental health, addictions, and community care services.

• See Policy 03 - Universal Health for more.

Everyday policing and public safety funding will continue to come from the General Revenue Fund, with a shift in priorities to health-first and community-based responses.

What It Means For You

It means power comes with responsibility.

It means we have a duty to help one another.

It means safety in Saskatchewan.

FAQ

• What happens to the Saskatchewan Marshals?
• They will be disbanded. Their funding will be redirected as part of the startup funding for a new team of first responders called Community Crisis Officers (CCOs), with ongoing support coming from health and public safety budgets.


• What are Community Crisis Officers?
• CCOs are teams of mental health workers, social workers, paramedics, and peer support workers with lived experience. They respond to low-risk mental health crises, intoxication, welfare checks, and similar calls where a 911 dispatcher determines there is a low risk of violence.


• Will police still respond to emergencies?
• Yes. Police will continue to respond to higher-risk calls, violent situations, and any call where there is a public safety concern. The change is that low-risk health and crisis calls will be directed to CCOs first, with police available whenever needed.


• What are the 24/7 Addictions and Sobering Centres?
• They are voluntary health facilities operated by the Saskatchewan Health Authority. They will provide same-day and outpatient detox services, Opioid Agonist Therapy, supervised consumption services or linked access to them, naloxone, and warm handoffs to housing and other supports.


• Where will the centres be located?
• Centres will be established in Regina, Saskatoon, and Prince Albert, with additional regional centres created as determined by need.


• Does decriminalization mean drugs are legal?
• No. Decriminalization means small personal possession would be treated as a health matter instead of a criminal matter. It does not legalize trafficking, exploitation, serious violence, or public intoxication.


• Will people always be taken to a Sobering Centre?
• No. Where clinically appropriate and operationally feasible, first responders or CCOs may transport someone to a Sobering Centre or another health setting. Where transport is not necessary or feasible, they may instead provide harm-reduction supplies, referrals, on-site stabilization, and follow-up connection to care.


• Will involuntary addictions treatment continue?
• No. Involuntary addictions treatment will be abolished. Treatment must be based on consent, evidence, and dignity.


• What happens to housing encampments?
• Encampments cannot be disbanded unless there are real placements available for both the people and their property. That means a private room, secure storage, and transport to get there. No one will be forced into another town away from their supports.


• How is this funded?
• Community Crisis Officers will be funded through a combination of redirected Saskatchewan Marshals funding, health spending under the Universal Health Plan, and General Revenue Fund support where required. The 24/7 Addictions and Sobering Centres will be funded primarily through the health system as part of Saskatchewan's broader expansion of mental health, addictions, and community care services.