(File photo/CKOM News Staff)

By CKOM News

App being developed to help alleviate trespassing issue

Nov 7, 2019 | 4:25 PM

A web application that will connect people seeking access to private land with the owners of the property is getting closer to reality.

In March, Premier Scott Moe announced at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) convention in Saskatoon that the province was launching an Innovation Challenge to solve the issue.

On Thursday at the SARM office in Regina, Tina Beaudry-Mellor — the provincial minister responsible for Innovation Saskatchewan — unveiled a prototype of an app that will help those who want to use private land get permission from the owners of the property.

Regina business Western Heritage developed the prototype.

“The collaborative approach taken by Western Heritage and SARM has already resulted in a working prototype under our Innovation Challenge,” Beaudry-Mellor said in a media release.

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“The development team is now moving into testing to see how the app works in the real world.”

SaskLander, as the app is known, follows the amendments made to The Trespass to Property Act earlier this year. Under those changes, individuals now must get permission from rural land owners before going on their property.

“The web app gives landowners the ability to specify which activities can take place on their private property and when,” SaskLander co-founder Aldo Scribante said in the release.

“SaskLander uses a map interface to show all potential land users what land is available for use. It also gives them the ability, inside the app, to ask the property owner for permission to access that land.”

After developing the app, Western Heritage did a 16-week residency with SARM and Innovation Saskatchewan. That allowed the company to work through potential challenges that may come up.

“With SARM’s role in representing the interests of rural municipal government, we are very pleased with the outcomes of the Innovation Challenge and look forward to continuing to represent our stakeholder’s interests as SaskLander pilots its technology,” SARM president Ray Orb said.

The government said SaskLander currently is being tested in the RM of Shellbrook. The goal is to have the pilot project wrapped up before the end of 2020.