Calls for Saskatoon transit officers could be answered by the city

Police officers could be dedicated to Saskatoon city buses after discussions by the transportation committee on transit safety.

Options were laid out in a report this week to enhance the Fire Community Support program.

The program is part of the support Saskatoon Transit receives to address issues at terminals, transit stops and on buses, with other supports including the Saskatoon Police Service, Commissionaires and Saskatoon Transit supervisors.

While some options in the report included additional Fire Community Support workers, two other options were brought forward that would see one sergeant and eight SPS officers dedicated to support transit.

For Darcy Pederson, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 615, the matter comes down to wanting trained professionals able to enforce laws on the bus.

He said while the Fire Community Support workers are able to offer compassion to people who may be struggling with homelessness or addictions issues, compassion isn’t enough.

“Compassion alone cannot ensure the safety of the system,” Pederson said on Tuesday.

Mayor Cynthia Block asked Pederson what was missing in the transit safety plan, and Pederson noted there was nobody on buses to maintain order, enforce fares or protect bus drivers and passengers.

“We need a balanced model where outreach and enforcement work together,” he said.

While Pederson said he would have liked to see an option for a peace officer in the report, Deputy Chief Darren Pringle explained that there would need to be authority given by the provincial government for something like that to exist.

He said Saskatchewan is different than other jurisdictions — such as Alberta or Winnipeg — that have peace officers. Pringle said it took plenty of discussions with the province just to get the Alternative Response Officers that work downtown; they are technically urban community safety officers sworn in by the Province of Saskatchewan.

He said ARO’s have restricted hours that they can work, and police officers would be a better fit to monitor buses at all hours.

Pringle said there has been some discussion around whether the Saskatchewan Trespass to Property Act would apply to city buses, though he doesn’t believe it to be the case. If that act were to apply, it would make it illegal to be on a bus without lawful authority or the owner’s permission, and make it easier to remove people from buses.

“We need to explore a bit of a bylaw,” Pringle said, with city administration noting they’ve been working with police to come up with an idea of what that bylaw could look like.

The options for police officers in the report would either see a cost of $1.6 million in 2026, or having that cost broken up between 2026 and 2027 with a phased-in approach.

Coun. Robert Pearce moved to have the options that include two police officer presented during city council budget deliberations. That motion passed unanimously.

A separate information report discussed the negative interactions recorded on buses, which Saskatoon Transit said could be anything from a fare dispute, intoxication, harassment, a verbal altercation, or anything involving a weapon.

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While there were increases in negative interactions seen between February and April of 2025 compared to 2024, the other months to date have seen decreases. As an example, there were 89 negative interactions recorded in September 2024, but that dropped to 64 in September of this year.

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