The private member’s bill suggests increasing fines for noncompliance
The Saskatchewan NDP wants foreign farmland owners who don’t obey the law to face stiffer penalties.
Trent Wotherspoon, the party’s deputy shadow minister for agriculture and rural affairs, and the shadow minister of finance, introduced The Saskatchewan Farm Security (Foreign Farmland Ownership) Amendment Act which lays out stiffer penalties.
Under the proposed legislation, the fine for noncompliance would increase from $1,000 to $1 million. And the penalty for individuals would increase to $1 million from $50,000.
Under Saskatchewan law, foreign ownership is limited to 10 acres or less unless an exemption is granted by the Farm Land Security Board.
When it comes to identifying noncompliance, the board only acts after public complaints come in.
But a 2024 audit of the security board found it didn’t act thoroughly on some transactions and lacked the tools to escalate penalties.
“We found the Board did not request statutory ownership declarations for 50% of farmland purchases we tested made by corporations not registered in Saskatchewan,” the auditor general’s summary said.
Additional language in the Sask. NDP’s bill would ensure the ag minister “shall” receive proper documentation from someone trying to acquire farmland.
The current legislation says “the board may” ask for these materials.
Premier Moe’s government hasn’t done enough to ensure the Farm Land Security Board can operate appropriately, Wotherspoon said.
The provincial government “failed to make sure the Farm Land Security Board has the resources and the teeth they need to enforce the law, which is why these are practical, common sense solutions we’ve brought forward,” he told reporters, CBC reported.
A third part of the bill includes a clause allowing for a court order stating net proceeds of forced sales of illegally held farmland be forfeited to the government.
The auditor general’s report on the Farm Land Security Board included 10 recommendations, some of which the Sask. NDP’s bill addresses.
The government says it is comfortable with the current legislation.
“We are open to changes if they feel it’s going to improve the plan,” Agriculture Minister David Marit told CTV. “The declaration, the recommendations and the changes we made, which the provincial auditor asked for, we implemented as quickly as we could and we’ve landed in a good spot.”
Premier Moe’s government last made changes in October 2025.