Latest news with #KelliHawtin
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Sask. government, Battlefords mayors pen letter to feds, demanding bail reform
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a media event to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Saskatoon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards The Government of Saskatchewan, in addition to the mayors of The Battlefords, have penned a letter to the federal government, advocating for changes to the Criminal Code of Canada – including bail reform. 'We see the same repeat offenders committing violent crimes in our community, and obviously that has an effect on how people in our community feel about safety in the Battlefords,' Minister of Health and Sask. Party MLA for The Battlefords Jeremy Cockrill told reporters Wednesday. 'It's also important that if you commit a criminal act, that you have pay the consequences for that act.' Members of the provincial government, in addition to North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin and Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie signed the letter addressed to federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser. 'In order to use our resources more effectively, we really want those violent repeat offenders dealt with and taken off of our streets and out of our communities,' Mayor Hawtin said. 'We're not asking for more people in prison. We're asking for the right people to be in prison.' Both mayors spoke about the negative stigma their communities have had to endure due to the same group of repeat offenders. 'We have this stigma because of a few individuals in our community that continue to commit these crimes, giving us a bad reputation,' Mayor Leslie explained. 'Part of this bail reform will help us change that image of The Battlefords and hopefully bring more people to our wonderful community.' In addition to bail reform, Premier Scott Moe said the province is requesting strengthened penalties for those involved in drug trafficking. 'There's no place for them here,' he told reporters, referring to traffickers. 'Our intent is to eradicate crystal meth and to eradicate fentanyl from communities in this province and we're going to do our level best.' Provincial officials also spoke extensively on its efforts in providing recovery supports to those who have fallen into a life of addiction – referring to funding for recovery beds and its planned expansion of urgent care centres. -More details to come…
CTV News
09-07-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
LIVE @ 10:30: Sask. premier, all of provincial cabinet meet with North Battleford, Battleford mayors
Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during a media event to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Ontario Premier Doug Ford in Saskatoon on Sunday, June 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards Premier Scott Moe and all of provincial cabinet are in North Battleford Wednesday morning where they will meet with the mayors of North Battleford and Battleford. The meeting with North Battleford Mayor Kelli Hawtin and Battleford Mayor Ames Leslie will be held at Northwest Community Futures, 'The Executive' Boardroom in North Battleford at 10:30 a.m. The province did not elaborate on what will be announced and discussed. You can watch the media availability live at the top of this article. -This is a developing story. More details to follow.
CBC
15-03-2025
- Health
- CBC
North Battleford announces increased patrols for downtown
The City of North Battleford is launching a multi-agency approach to address concerns about safety. The plan will include a patrol team of social agencies, community safety officers and RCMP members who will be dedicated to the city's downtown. Mayor Kelli Hawtin said the increased patrols will be focused on ensuring that everyone using the downtown area can function well together. "This isn't a project of just policing, which is one of the only tools a municipality has, but this is a project of connecting people to services that they may be needing in times of crisis or other times in their life," Hawtin said. The patrol team will be focused on connecting people who may be struggling with addiction and health issues in the area to the appropriate services. Hawtin said people in the downtown area are accessing services for a variety of different reasons that may cause safety issues. "We have people shopping and seeking entertainment in downtown areas; we have people accessing, you know, things like accountants, lawyers, banks — but we also have people that are accessing important social services," Hawtin said. The city is working to connect with health professionals and cultural community leaders to accompany police officers on foot patrols. Ryan How, detachment commander for the Battlefords RCMP, said complex solutions are needed, rather than just increased policing. "I think everybody's very aware that arresting and charging is not going to be the solution to this," said How. He said he hopes to increase safety for everyone in the area. "The goal here is to make the downtown a healthier place to be, a safer place to be for the community and make sure that the people who need help are getting access to it," he said. The new patrol team will also be using the crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED) model to enhance safety for local business owners. The model is based on the theory that "the proper design and effective use of the built environment can lead to a reduction in the incidence and fear of crime, and an improvement in the quality of life," according to non-profit organization CPTED Canada.
