New law allows gov’t to suspend assistance to violent offenders with active warrants

Legislation introduced Thursday by the Government of Saskatchewan will make it harder for violent offenders with active warrants to collect government benefits.

Christine Tell — Saskatchewan’s minister of corrections, policing and public safety — confirmed the stabbing rampage over the Labour Day weekend that saw 11 people killed highlighted the need for more tools to track down and arrest offenders with active warrants.

“I think that sparked the discussion: How many (offenders) is this common (for)?” Tell said. “You go along and think you’re simmering along and you don’t really know what’s below the surface. As we delved into it, we realized that there (is) that issue of being funded by taxpayers.

“When you are in violation of the law of this country and you are out there and being funded by the taxpayers of this province? (It’s) insane.”

Tell confirmed Myles Sanderson — the prime suspect in the mass stabbing who was wanted on an active warrant — had been receiving government benefits.

“I don’t know what benefit but financial assistance from the province of Saskatchewan,” Tell said.

Ten people were killed on the James Smith Cree Nation and one was killed in the nearby community of Weldon. Sanderson died in police custody following a provincewide manhunt.

The new legislation will allow a Warrant Intelligence Team to suspend government benefits — such as income support or social housing — for prolific, violent offenders who have active warrants for their arrest.

The legislation also gives the team the authority to request and collect information on offenders from Crown corporations and other government agencies that can be shared with police.

The Warrant Intelligence Team is currently being developed by the provincial government, and is expected to become active in the 2023-24 fiscal year.

“The people of this province do not want to see prolific, serious, violent offenders that are currently on warrant status being supplied financially by the taxpayers of this province,” Tell said.

She said the government doesn’t want this change to impact the families of the offenders.

“We’re going after the offenders — the serious offenders — that are gathering or living off financial assistance to be out in the community at large on a Criminal Code warrant living off the taxpayer’s dollar,” Tell said. “We’re going to make sure that before any action is taken against these individuals that there’s no unintended consequences as best we can.”

The warrant team will work closely with social services, the government noted, to ensure suspended services do not have an unintended impact on offenders’ spouses or children.

“It is important to ensure that the children and families of violent offenders aren’t unfairly impacted by their criminal behaviour,” Social Services Minister Gene Makowsky said in the statement.

“Our ministry will help this new team improve community safety without creating any undue hardship for vulnerable Saskatchewan people.”

The government said the new legislation includes a number of safeguards “to ensure that the Warrant Intelligence Team can only request limited information about specific violent offenders, and that the information obtained must be used for the purpose of assisting with apprehension efforts.”

— With files from 980 CJME’s Britton Gray