Saskatchewan proposes controversial trespass law requiring landowner permission
Posted Nov 27, 2018 1:36 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
REGINA — Saskatchewan has introduced legal changes that would require people to get permission before they go on private land.
Justice Minister Don Morgan says the proposed law balances the rights of rural landowners and the public.
The legislation would provide legal protection for landowners against property damage caused by a trespasser.
But Chief Bobby Cameron, with the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations, says he’s concerned the proposed changes will lead to confrontation.
The legislation comes over two years after Colten Boushie, a 22-year-old Indigenous man, was killed on a farm in rural Saskatchewan.
Earlier this year, a jury acquitted farmer Gerald Stanley of second-degree murder after he testified his gun went off accidentally when he was trying to scare off some young people who drove on to his farm.
“We hope there are no more tragedies, we really hope,” Cameron said Tuesday in Saskatoon. “But if they do, this provincial government should also say, we will be held liable if someone dies because of this trespassing legislation.”
A recent survey released by the province showed 65 per cent of respondents said people should ask landowners for permission before they go onto private land.
“This legislation shifts that responsibility to those wishing to access the land, by requiring them to obtain prior permission from the land owner or occupier,” Morgan said in a statement.
The Canadian Press
