Public Trust
Public Trust Our Commitment to You
Public trust is fundamental to the work of the Saskatchewan Animal
Enforcement Agency (SAEA).
Our Animal Protection Officers are entrusted with significant responsibilities in administering and enforcing Saskatchewan’s animal protection legislation. With that responsibility comes an equally important obligation to carry out our duties professionally, fairly, respectfully, and accountably. We take that responsibility seriously. Animal protection investigations can involve difficult, emotional, and sometimes complex circumstances. We recognize that members of the public may have questions or concerns about an interaction, a decision, the conduct of an Animal Protection Officer, or the service they received from SAEA.
We believe people should have a clear and accessible way to raise those concerns and have them heard.
Our Public Trust process exists for that purpose.
It provides members of the public with a direct way to bring concerns forward so they can be appropriately documented, reviewed, and addressed.
Our goal is not simply to respond to complaints. It is to maintain public confidence, ensure accountability, support procedural fairness, identify opportunities for improvement, and maintain high professional standards throughout our organization. Raising a Concern or Complaint If you believe you were treated unfairly, have a concern regarding the conduct or actions of an Animal Protection Officer or SAEA representative, or have concerns regarding the administration or service provided by SAEA, you are welcome to bring the matter to our attention.
You can submit your concern directly through the Public Trust Complaint
Form located at the bottom of this page.
You may also contact Public Trust by email at:
PublicTrust@SaskAnimalEnforcementAgency.com
We encourage concerns to be brought forward as soon as reasonably possible following an incident or interaction. This helps ensure that information, records, and circumstances can be reviewed effectively. What Happens When We Receive Your Concern?
Complaints and concerns submitted through Public Trust are taken seriously.
When a Public Trust complaint is received, all three parties responsible for organizational leadership and oversight are made aware of the complaint:
SAEA Senior Management
• SAEA Executive Board
• The appropriate representative of the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture
This is intentional and is an important part of our commitment to transparency.
We want members of the public to have confidence that their concern is not being received or managed without appropriate awareness and oversight. By ensuring all three parties are informed, the process provides transparency, accountability, and organizational oversight from the outset.
It also means that your concern is formally brought to the attention of the appropriate leadership and oversight levels rather than simply being returned to the individual or operational area involved.
Your concern is taken seriously, and all three parties are made aware that it has been submitted.
Once received, the information provided will be reviewed to determine the appropriate next steps.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include reviewing relevant records, documents, correspondence, policies, procedures, reports, or other available information.
Additional information may also be requested from the complainant, the Animal Protection Officer or SAEA representative involved, witnesses, or other individuals who may have relevant information.
The purpose of the review is straightforward: understand what happened, establish the relevant facts, consider the circumstances fairly, and determine an appropriate response.
Where appropriate, SAEA will communicate with the complainant regarding the concern and work toward an appropriate resolution.
Fairness for Everyone A complaint is a concern that deserves to be heard and reviewed. It is not automatically a finding that misconduct or wrongdoing occurred.
SAEA approaches concerns with an open mind.
Our responsibility is to ensure that the process is fair to the member of the public raising the concern and equally fair to the Animal Protection Officer, employee, or representative whose actions are being reviewed.
We will consider the available information, circumstances, documentation, and relevant policies or procedures before reaching conclusions.
Where a complaint identifies an opportunity to improve our policies, training, procedures, communication, supervision, or service delivery, wewill take that opportunity seriously.
Where the available information does not support a complaint, recognizing that conclusion is equally important to maintaining a fair and credible process.
Fairness and accountability must work both ways.
Accountability and Continuous Improvement Public accountability is an important part of public service.
Complaints and concerns can help an organization identify more than whether something went wrong. They can identify where communication could have been clearer, where a procedure could be improved, where additional training may be beneficial, or where changes could strengthen the service we provide.
We believe a professional organization should be willing to listen, review its actions, learn from experience, and continually improve.
That commitment benefits the public, our Animal Protection Officers, our partners, and the communities we serve. Our Commitment to Saskatchewan Public trust is not something we simply expect. It is something we must continually earn.
We want Saskatchewan residents to have confidence in our Animal Protection Officers and in the systems responsible for overseeing their work.
That confidence is strengthened through professionalism, transparency, accountability, procedural fairness, and a willingness to listen.
If you have a concern, we want you to know that there is a clear process for your voice to be heard and that the appropriate leadership and oversight parties will be made aware of it.