The Sask. Party government is trying to create a new partisan security force at the legislature.
If passed, Bill 70 would strip the independent Sergeant-at-Arms of most of his powers, only to be unnecessarily replaced by a new security force answerable to the Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety.
There are lots of problems with this Sask Party change:
- The independence of security at the Legislature is of great importance to Saskatchewan people.
- It is a long-standing parliamentary custom that security maintain independence by reporting to the Speaker, and the Speaker has a constitutional duty to defend the privileges of the Legislature and its members.
- The Sergeant at Arms has successfully maintained the security of the Legislature and its grounds since the 1980s, but now Bill 70 would turn the Sergeant at Arms into a ceremonial role.
- Bill 70 breaches tradition in how issues of security at the Legislature are handled. Historically, all security concerns have been discussed at the bi-partisan Board of Internal Economy.
Sign now to call on the government to stop the passage of Bill 70 and stop the unprecedented attack on the independence of security at the Legislative Building.