Saskatchewan’s Opposition NDP argued on Jan. 26, 2026, that the province does not need its newly announced review of hospital security, because the provincial auditor had already identified the safety problems in December 2024 — even as metal detectors were being installed in some emergency rooms.
‘You already know what to do’
The Saskatchewan Party government under Premier Scott Moe announced the previous week that it would launch an independent, third-party review into hospital security while installing metal detectors in some emergency rooms — a response to growing concerns about violence in health-care facilities.
The NDP says the province is acting slowly, and that it doesn’t need another report to examine the issues. The December 2024 report of the provincial auditor found that a Health Ministry committee that reviews critical incidents was weak at finding ways to eliminate the root causes of safety issues in hospitals. The report said the committee had recommended the ministry create a policy to prohibit weapons, but the auditor suggested stronger measures, such as metal detectors, be looked at.
NDP health critic Meara Conway said the finding is evidence the province already knew what it needed to do on hospital safety, arguing the ministry doesn’t need another analysis. The province had not responded to a request for comment from The Canadian Press, but has said the review will examine how security is delivered and where safety can be enhanced.
Fellow NDP critic Jared Teed later made the same point as the review’s scope was still being finalized: “I think the health ministry know what solutions need to happen. My concern is that it’s the usual rinse and repeat crisis.”
What the government is doing
Health Minister Jeremy Cockrill announced the review at a Saskatoon news conference, saying the province will find an expert to undertake it. “We are listening,” he said. “Everyone who walks through the doors of a Saskatchewan healthcare facility deserves to feel safe. Every staff member deserves a safe work environment.”
The Saskatchewan Health Authority said metal detectors were installed on Jan. 19 at the emergency departments of St. Paul’s Hospital and Saskatoon City Hospital, and on Jan. 20 at Regina General Hospital and Pasqua Hospital, with the Prince Albert Victoria Hospital, Battlefords Union Hospital and the Regina Urgent Care Centre to follow in February — expanding a pilot that had operated at the joint emergency entrance of Royal University Hospital and the Jim Pattison Children’s Hospital. The authority will hire an additional 51 protective services officers to staff the detectors, at a cost of about $3 million for the devices and positions, and the province is seeking proposals from contractors to provide security in smaller communities including La Loche, Shellbrook, Swift Current, Moose Jaw and Weyburn.
SHA chief executive Andrew Will said there has been an increase in assaults and threatening behaviour. “These events are deeply concerning. They are stressful for staff, unsettling for patients and families and they have no place in health care,” he said. Initial reports, Will added, indicated the detectors had already resulted in weapons being confiscated and were having a deterrent effect.
The urgency has been sharpened by recent incidents, including the death of 36-year-old Trevor Dubois in an altercation with security staff at Royal University Hospital earlier in January, and an incident in November in which a man entered Saskatoon’s St. Paul’s Hospital with a sawed-off shotgun and several knives — prompting nurses to demand stronger security. Cockrill has said there is no timeline for the review, but that it will be turned around “in weeks or months,” not years.
