A new Treasury Board Crown corporation has been created to manage the province’s 911 emergency dispatching services.
It was announced Thursday in Prince Albert the launch of the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency, which will be based in that city. The announcement was made by Government Relations Minister Larry Doke.
“This new Crown will help meet the needs of our rapidly-growing province and current technology demands to ensure we can continue providing excellent emergency communications services for all Saskatchewan residents,” Doke said in a news release. “Under this new structure, governance will be streamlined and the province will be in a better position to meet future needs and expand emergency services accordingly.”
Up to now emergency communications services had been co-managed through a partnership between the province and the City of Prince Albert for a number of years.
According to the province, the new facility in Prince Albert will serve as the provincial emergency communications centre for all areas except Regina and Saskatoon, which will retain their emergency dispatching centres. 911 emergency service fees, applied to cellphone and landlines within the province, will also rise by $0.32 per month effective January 1, 2018.
The new Crown will report to the Minister of Government Relations.
“Saskatchewan has grown immensely over the last decade and this new model is ideally suited to ensure communication services continue to be delivered in the most effective, efficient way possible with our experienced staff,” Doke said.
“I would also like to thank the City of Prince Albert for all that they have done to help keep Saskatchewan residents safe.”
