federal employees

Amendments to provincial anti-trespassing law aimed at federal employees

Amendments to provincial anti-trespassing law aimed at federal employees

Federal government employees who enter private land without the owner's consent face fines of up to $200,000 under an amendment to Saskatchewan's anti-trespassing law. "This formalizes and reinforces the change to trespass regulations, made earlier this year, that requires federal employees to comply with the Act, which prohibits individuals from entering private land without the owner's consent," Justice Minister Bronwyn Eyre said in a news release about the Trespass to Property Amendment Act, 2022.

Sask. government amended its trespassing act ahead of dispute with Ottawa

Sask. government amended its trespassing act ahead of dispute with Ottawa

The Government of Saskatchewan amended its provincial trespassing act ahead of its ongoing dispute with the federal government. The amendment changes the definition of a “person” within the Trespass to Property Act to include “the Crown, in the right of Canada.” “There’s references to various persons, and all that this order in council does is it says that person can include an agent, essentially the Crown in the right of Canada,” Martin Olszynski, a law professor at the University of Calgary, said.

Sask wants explanation for federal dugout testing

Sask wants explanation for federal dugout testing

The Saskatchewan government said it wants to know exactly what the federal government is looking for if it is testing water samples from farmers’ dugouts. Water Security Agency minister Jeremy Cockrill said the government received multiple reports from farmers last week that federal vehicles were on their land. A tweet from Pense farmer and former Western Canadian Wheat Growers president Levi Wood showed a photograph of a Government of Canada vehicle and two people.

Saskatchewan alleges federal employees illegally taking water samples from farmers

Saskatchewan alleges federal employees illegally taking water samples from farmers

The Saskatchewan Party government says it wants an explanation from Ottawa after federal employees allegedly took water samples from farmers’ lands without permission. Jeremy Cockrill, the minister responsible for the province’s Water Security Agency, said three landowners in southern Saskatchewan had recent unannounced visits from federal employees. He said during each separate instance, the employees, who arrived in black Government of Canada vehicles, took samples from dugouts without the landowners’ permission.

Water fight: Sask. government accuses federal employees of trespassing for water tests

Water fight: Sask. government accuses federal employees of trespassing for water tests

The Saskatchewan government is accusing federal government employees of trespassing when taking water samples in Saskatchewan. The allegation prompted a public letter from Saskatchewan's minister responsible for water security to his counterpart in Ottawa. On Saturday, Saskatchewan's cabinet approved an order in council tweaking the province's trespassing laws, the Trespass to Property Act 2022, "to add a new section regarding the Act and state that 'person' includes the Crown in right of Canada."