The Government of Saskatchewan has passed new regulations which they say will help police to enforce trespass laws in businesses and public spaces.
With the new changes under the province's The Trespass to Property Amendment Regulations, 2025, activities including public intoxication and drug use will now be automatically considered trespassing in public spaces or businesses.
The reclassification allows police to immediately enforce the act against individuals causing public disturbance without seeking out information from owners and occupants of the premises.
" We continue to explore avenues that will provide police with additional legal tools to address harmful items and activities in public spaces, creating safer communities across the province,” said Justice Minister and Attorney General Tim McLeod. "These regulations will ensure that police can act quickly to remove individuals who pose a threat to themselves and others, ensuring our public spaces and businesses remain safe and accessible."
Under the new Regulations, police will be able to remove someone and, if necessary, charge them with an offence if they are engaged in the following activities:
- public intoxication
- use of a controlled substance
- threatening to cause harm to persons and property through verbal, physical or other means
- public urination or defecation
- causing damage to premises or personal property located on the premises
- any other activity that constitutes an offence pursuant to the Criminal Code
The province says the changes will be a key step in managing overdose deaths, violent crime, and community instability caused by drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine.