Saskatchewan’s NDP Leader says he has concerns about Prince Albert’s new pathways curfew bylaw.
Passed last week, the bylaw gives police the ability to stop, question and fine individuals if they are on public walkways between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m.
Proponents on city council say they passed the new bylaw as a means of tackling Prince Albert’s burgeoning property crime problem.
However, some say it will only open the door to racial profiling and increased police harassment.
Ryan Meili said Prince Albert police need to show how they would use due diligence in exercising such a law.
He also said the bylaw will do little to address the underlying factors behind property crime.
“You can’t arrest your way out of these situations,” Meili said. “No matter how many police we add on the street until we deal with the addictions and mental health problems that are at the root of the crime waves across the province…”
Councillor Terra Lennox-Zepp voted against the bylaw and said similar laws in other jurisdictions have only led to negative effects.
“Carding programs have been shown to use a lot of police resources with very little impact on the level of crime,” she said. “And carding is also known to contribute to a disproportionate amount of black and Indigenous people being recorded into law enforcement databases.”
Council is also looking at another bylaw that would impose a similar curfew in the city’s back alleys.
(PHOTO: Prince Albert-Northcote MLA Nicole Rancourt, left, and Saskatchewan NDP Leader Ryan Meili, right. Photo by Fraser Needham.)