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By Nigel Maxwell

Crime

Sask. trespassing law to receive further upgrade

Nov 4, 2021 | 12:00 PM

Further changes are being made to Saskatchewan’s Trespass to Property Amendment Act.

The changes, introduced Thursday by the provincial government, will essentially create stronger penalties for trespassing and make it easier for rural landowners to take legal action against trespassers.

“The vast majority of people in Saskatchewan seek permission to access a property,” Justice Minister and Attorney General Gordon Wyant said in a statement. “These changes will support and extend that best practice by creating a statutory tort of trespass and providing for increased penalties for trespassers.”

The Trespass to Property Act seeks to balance the needs of landowners with the wishes of those who want to access private property for legitimate recreational activities. These changes respond to concerns expressed by rural landowners about individuals who repeatedly trespass on their property.

The new legislation increases the maximum penalty set out in the act to $25,000 for repeat offenders trespassing on the same property and adds imprisonment up to six months as an available penalty. It will also introduce a $200,000 maximum penalty for a corporation that is complicit in a trespassing offence.

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The bill establishes that property owners can take civil legal action against trespassers who enter or engage in activity on their premises without permission. It will also place an onus on the trespasser to justify why they are on the property, instead of requiring the owner to prove that an individual entered without permission.

The need to make change to the Trespass to Property Amendment Act, dates back to 2018 when the Saskatchewan Ministry of Justice posted a questionnaire on it website.

Two questions were posed to survey participants: if legislation should be updated to require permission from rural property owners before accessing land; and how should such permission should be obtained.

The latest changes introduced Thursday are scheduled to come into force on Jan. 1, 2022.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell