Saskatchewan's independent police oversight body to start operating Jan. 1

Saskatchewan's police oversight body will come into force in the new year, according to an order in council issued by the provincial cabinet on Dec. 7.

The launch of the Serious Incident Response Team (SIRT) was delayed from the government's original target of fall 2021. The team will investigate any death or serious injury involving police, including on- and off-duty municipal and RCMP officers.

A spokesperson for Saskatchewan's Integrated Justice Services wrote in an email that four investigators have now been hired and that the act "will enable SIRT to conduct investigations into serious incidents," and comes into effect Jan. 1.

Apart from the appointment of Gregory Gudelot as the civilian executive director in June 2021, there has been little information provided about the team. Saskatchewan is the last province in Western Canada to establish an independent oversight body for police.

However, the body has already been functioning in a limited capacity.

Following the death of Myles Sanderson — the main suspect in the mass stabbing in James Smith Cree Nation and Weldon, Sask. who died in RCMP custody in September — the Saskatoon Police Service said it would be leading the investigation "in co-operation" with SIRT.

When SIRT is fully operational, it will be responsible for investigating alleged cases of sexual assault, serious injury, death or interpersonal violence arising from the actions of police officers and certain special constables — such as conservation officers, traffic officers and deputy sheriffs employed by the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety.

In his capacity as the civilian executive director, Gudelot — a lawyer who previously was the assistant executive director of the Alberta SIRT — will appoint staff investigators to conduct investigations. When the victim of an incident is Indigenous, the director is required to appoint a community liaison who is of First Nations or Métis ancestry.

Summary reports of SIRT investigations will be publicly released, the government has said.

The Saskatchewan government is also in the process of setting up its own 70-member police service, the Saskatchewan Marshal Service. It is expected to be operational in 2026.