The Saskatchewan Firearms Office has now signed an MOU with the Saskatoon Police Service to house the proposed Firearms Ballistics Lab. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, the Saskatoon Police Headquarters would provide a home for the lab for the next two years.

Last year, the Government of Saskatchewan announced it was introducing the Saskatchewan Firearms Act which the government said was to protect the rights of lawful firearms owners. Rolled out with the announcement of the legislation was a 70-person Marshal Service by 2026 and a Saskatchewan Ballistics lab which the government said would support police services and provide timely access to Saskatchewan-based ballistics and firearms expertise.

In February, the Saskatoon Police Service asked the Saskatoon Board of Police Commissioners for an additional $90,000 in funding to replace the Indoor Range at headquarters. Under the MOU the Firearms Office will pay the Saskatoon Police Service $49,000 for improvements to the Service’s existing indoor shooting range, and additional monthly payments for office space, parking and utilities.

In a news release the Province says the provincial Ballistics Lab at Saskatoon Police Service headquarters will house a variety of forensic ballistics equipment, including equipment which can be used to compare spent firearms cartridges and determine whether specific firearms have been used in a crime. To help in situations where firearms have been smuggled into Canada or have had their serial numbers altered, the lab will also be able to conduct firearms testing and tracing to determine the history of potentially illegal firearms.