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Meara Conway, the NDP candidate for Regina Elphinstone-Centre, made an appearance in Moose Jaw on Thursday to criticize Scott Moe’s record on crime. She was joined by Moose Jaw resident Phil Rose.
Following her election in 2020, Conway was the Official Opposition Critic for Social Services, Housing, and Community-Based Organizations, and served as the NDP Deputy House Leader.
“Because of Scott Moe, Saskatchewan has the highest rate of violent crime in the country, and as violent crime went up in communities like Moose Jaw, Scott Moe did nothing to make things safer,” Conway claimed. “He did not reach out to local police or the RCMP for their input, he didn’t help businesses afford security equipment, he didn’t listen to communities when they asked for help.”
She has long blamed the Sask Party government for worsening social conditions in the province, including specific criticisms of social programs like Saskatchewan Income Support (SIS) and Saskatchewan Assured Income for Disabilities (SAID). She recently joined Jason Moore, executive director at the Moose Jaw & District Food Bank, to amplify calls for provincial assistance for food banks, which was subsequently delivered.
Conway has said that Sask Party changes to social programs are ideologically driven rather than evidence-based, and are pushing more people into poverty, homelessness, and drug misuse disorders.
On Thursday, she took aim at the Saskatchewan Marshals Service, a proposed provincial police force that has been harshly judged by the RCMP and other Saskatchewan police services — including the Moose Jaw Police.
Instead of actually helping, Conway said, Moe “announced a Marshal’s Service that will total $40 million that we know of. So far, he’s wasted $14 million public dollars on a pet project that almost 100 communities warned him was a bad idea.
“He’s spent millions of Saskatchewan people’s hard-earned money on a Marshal’s Service that has yet to put a single boot on the ground. ... Meanwhile, his decisions are aggravating the underlying causes of crime.”
“My wife and I moved to Moose Jaw 17 years ago,” Phil Rose told media. “We were attracted to a city with a small-town mentality. However, drugs, theft, and vandalism are slowly robbing Moose Jaw of that quality.
“If you live within an easy walk of the downtown area, you reasonably expect that anything of any value left in your backyard last night will be gone this morning. ... We need to be united to deal with these problems. We want our community to thrive, and we owe it to ourselves to make that happen. ... I believe this current government has failed to address these problems in any meaningful way. And after 17 years, I believe it’s time for change.”
In a recent open media conference, Moose Jaw Police Service (MJPS) Chief Rick Bourassa presented statistics showing that non-violent crimes (property damage, theft, mischief) and calls for service are up. The violent crime severity index continues to fall, and Moose Jaw as a jurisdiction is on par with most other large Saskatchewan centres, with the exception of Prince Albert.
Crime has increased significantly in RCMP jurisdictions. The RCMP police 46 per cent of the provincial population, with 39 per cent of the population under RCMP jurisdiction in the RCMP’s south district, including the RM of Moose Jaw.
Conway said that NDP Leader Carla Beck and her team have a plan to make communities safer by addressing crime head-on, as well as addressing the root causes. She promised rebates for security upgrades such as lights and cameras, changes to social services, and increased support for existing police forces after cancelling the Marshal’s Service.
“We will cancel Scott Moe’s pet project and actually listen to the communities who have been calling for help by hiring 200 local police service and RCMP officers. ... We’ll crack down on organized criminals and drug traffickers with a task force that targets individuals who become inexplicably wealthy.
“At the same time, we’re going to get tough on the causes of crime. We’re going to focus on prevention. We’ll help people who are struggling to get better, to get back on a better path, with more mental healthcare, addictions supports, more treatment beds, and more support to get people into the home that they deserve.
“It’s time for change, and we’ve got a plan.”