New Sask. Legislation Requires Federal Employees to Comply With Trespass Laws or Be Fined $200K

Durum wheat is shown in a field near Gray, Sask., on July 29, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Kayle Neis)

The Saskatchewan government has introduced legislation that requires federal employees to comply with the province’s trespass laws. Failure to comply will carry a fine of up to $200,000 per person.

Minister of Justice and Attorney General Bronwyn Eyre introduced “The Trespass to Property Amendment Act, 2022” on Nov. 23 in response to “concerns about unauthorized access to private land” by federal employees in August.

“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,” Eyre said in a press release.

On Aug. 21, Jeremy Cockrill, Saskatchewan’s minister responsible for water security, took to Twitter to share a letter he wrote to federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault saying that farmers in the Pense, Mossbank, and Pilot Butte areas have “raised concerns about Government of Canada employees, in clearly marked Government of Canada vehicles, trespassing on private lands.”

https://twitter.com/jeremycockrill/status/1561443078719672322?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1561443078719672322%7Ctwgr%5E8a2088822e8334a596121632daac0e9758ce1cd3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theepochtimes.com%2Fsaskatchewan-demands-answers-from-guilbeault-after-feds-accused-of-trespassing-on-private-lands_4680867.html

“When approached by producers, these employees indicated that they were testing water sources for pesticide/nitrate levels,” Cockrill’s letter said.

“The lands and water body, a producer’s dugout, are both privately owned. Government of Canada representatives did not request permission to enter from the landowner, nor did they seek permission to perform testing or advise landowners of any other purpose of necessity for attendance.”

Cockrill called the testing “covert” and said it has “created unnecessary fear and disruption to our citizens while also displaying a disappointing act of bad faith.”

In his written reply to Cockrill on Aug. 24, Guilbeault accused the Saskatchewan government of engaging in “heated and misinformed rhetoric” and “openly speculating about the work of these scientists.”

Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeault rises during Question Period, in Ottawa on Nov. 22, 2022. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

“Departmental officials are not testing water for nitrates or nutrients related to farm runoff, and their study is not related to the non-regulated, voluntary goals of the Government of Canada in an effort to reduce emissions from agricultural fertilizers,” he wrote.

In a previous statement to The Epoch Times, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) said it was aware of the Aug. 11 incident in Pense “where water scientists were taking samples very near a highway when a landowner approached the scientist to inform them that they were in fact on private land.”

The ECCC added it has no record of federal employees trespassing in Mossbank and Pilot Butte areas, as alleged in Cockrill’s letter.

Eyre said residents can report suspected incidents of trespassing to local RCMP or police services.

“Seeking the consent of landowners prior to access is simply best practice and common courtesy, and we see no reason for federal government employees to not meet this standard,” she said.

The fine for trespassing is up to $200,000 per person.

Existing exemptions in the act, such as those for emergency services personnel, utility providers, and inspectors remain unchanged, the release said.