Sask NDP calls on province to release nearly 300 pages of marshal misconduct complaints, investigations

CBC

2 days ago

The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the province to release a collection of documents outlining complaints and investigations into Saskatchewan Marshals Service after the Opposition party submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request and got back nearly 300 pages of redacted emails and documents.
The NDP had requested all documents related to allegations of misconduct or investigations into the marshals service from November 2022 to May 2025.
" This pattern of secrecy and lack of transparency is deeply troubling," NDP MLA Nicole Sarauer said at a Thursday morning news conference. She said even the dates of the emails had been redacted.
"That's a lot of documents, especially for a police force that wasn't even doing any on the ground work until this summer."
The NDP is calling on Minister for Justice, Policing, Corrections and Public Safety Tim McLeod and Legislative Secretary Michael Weger to be "transparent" with the province and release the documents.
The Opposition party said it has already written to the provincial ombudsman to ask for an investigation into the conduct of the marshals service. The NDP has also referred its concerns about the redacted records to the office of Saskatchewan's information and privacy commissioner.
" The minister can keep trying to hide it, but the details of this scandal will come out. Folks talk in Saskatchewan," Sarauer said.
Sarauer pointed to a complaint made in May, before the service was officially working, about an officer who resigned after the complaint was made. She asked what kind of vetting process happened before that person was hired.
"The minister needs to clear the air, explain what happened and also explain what he has done since to ensure that this never happens again," Sarauer said.
"It's not very often a police force receives a public complaint before even starting to work.… It really makes one wonder what this person did."
Sarauer said it is still unclear from the documents if all 290 are regarding the marshal who has since resigned, or there are multiple complaints against the marshal service.
"Decisions regarding Freedom of Information access requests are made internally by the permanent head of the organizations involved in the request, without the involvement of the elected," a spokesperson for the Government of Saskatchewan said in an email to CBC Thursday. It said that in this case that would be the chief marshal of the marshals service.
The spokesperson said the NDP has attempted to pressure and dictate the decisions of not just one, but two oversight bodies, the Public Complaint Commission's (PCC) and the ombudsman.
"This not only undermines the independence of these offices but sets a dangerous precedent of politicizing processes that are explicitly designed to be neutral and non-partisan," the email said.
The PCC's investigation into the complaint involving the marshal service has been completed and has been provided to the service for its review and action, according to the province.