By Joel van der Veen

SASKATOON — By and large, the odds of a police officer in Canada busting down someone’s door and arresting them for unpaid taxes are pretty slim.

“Usually, the Canada Revenue Agency doesn’t put out warrants for (anyone’s) arrest,” Cpl. Hugh Gordon told the Leader last week. “It just doesn’t work that way.”

However, this exact premise is being used in a telephone scam that has been reported in communities across Saskatchewan, including Davidson.

According to an RCMP press release, the approach used varies from call to call. In some cases, the caller will claim to be an RCMP officer, telling the target that they have a warrant for their arrest for tax-related issues.

In other cases, they will claim to be an employee with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) — or its previous name, Revenue Canada — and will threaten to send the police to arrest the target.

One call recorded in Davidson last week used a similar approach, informing the recipient in a robotic voice, “The CRA has decided to initiate legal proceedings against (your name).”

The call went on to state that a lien would be placed on the target’s assets and bank account in the next 24 hours “due to your inability to settle your dues” with the CRA.

“A bill collection officer will visit you to complete the paperworks (sic),” continued the call, giving the recipient the option of speaking to a representative.

According to the police, regardless of the approach, the caller will then attempt to collect payment for the alleged unpaid taxes over the phone.

Police are advising anyone who receives a similar call not to provide any personal information to the caller, and to end the call.

Cpl. Gordon, a member of the RCMP Integrated Organized Crime North unit in Saskatoon, said such calls have been reported to police there and in Regina.

Unless the calls are reported to individual detachments, he said, it’s hard to track which areas are being targeted, although he added he has read media reports that similar calls are being received in Vancouver and across Canada.

While the premise might seem ludicrous to people familiar with Canada’s taxation and justice systems, Gordon said, people who lack that education could easily be vulnerable to such a scam.

Of the callers, he said, “They’re just going down a list . . . They’re just trying to pick off whoever they can pick off.”

Gordon said that the elderly and young people alike may be potential targets for this scam.

He described the callers as professional and skilled at manipulating people, noting that they use the information they have — including names and addresses — and prey on their victims’ ignorance to scare and fool them into handing over money.

Even if most of the callers hang up or refuse to follow the instructions, he said, just one successful call could pay off handsomely, noting that one Saskatoon man, fearing he would be arrested, ended up losing $4,500.

Gordon said he suspects the scam may be connected with organized crime, and it’s likely the calls are originating from outside of Canada.

According to a news release on the CRA website, the agency noted an increase in such calls back in June. The CRA has advised that anyone who receives a call of this nature should hang up and report it to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre at 1-888-654-9426.

The CRA website offers details on how to detect a scam call and what to do if you receive one. For more information, visit www.cra-arc.gc.ca/scrty/frdprvntn/menu-eng.html or call the SeniorBusters program toll-free at 1-888-495-8501.

Hey Community Groups!

I’ve noticed some posts from people around the region looking for information about how to register their kids for various activities. I thought The Davidson Leader could help by putting out an Activity and Leisure Guide to tell people what programs and clubs are running this season. For example, there are many new people in the area and someone in Kenaston or Davidson may not know that Loreburn offers figure skating, or that there is a Line 19 Gymnastics Club. I know Facebook is free and is a great way to share information, but it doesn’t reach everyone, especially once the post gets bumped down in the newsfeed.

We have 1,300 subscribers, so your ad will reach that many households and won’t be buried in a newsfeed. I’m planning to publish the guide in the Sept. 14 edition of The Leader.

—Tara

The Leader Classifieds also give great results and cost just $6 for up to 40 words. Consider using them for your coming events, real estate listings, help wanted, vehicle for sale or to sell household items.

By Joel van der Veen

DAVIDSON — A growing leak in Davidson’s swimming pool has resulted in a shortened swimming season, as well as questions about whether or not the pool will be able to open in 2016.

Recreation director Trevor Ouellette said Wednesday that the town had been aware that the pool was leaking at the start of the season in June, but the volume of water leaking has grown steadily over the summer.

He estimated that the pool is losing 30,000 litres of water each day, though it hasn’t been determined exactly where the water is getting out.

“We certainly didn’t know the amount of water that we were losing was this much,” he said.

The pool closed for the season on Friday, several days ahead of schedule but late enough to allow the final set of swimming lessons to wrap up.

At the beginning of the season, Ouellette said, it was observed that the pool was losing between half an inch and one inch of water each day.

That’s not uncommon, he added, explaining that such loss can occur through normal evaporation or from the water that splashes onto the deck as swimmers jump in or climb out of the pool.

In the last two or three weeks, the water level in the pool has dipped by multiple inches on a daily basis.

Ouellette said he believes water may be escaping through the pool deck, but added he won’t be able to determine where the leak is until after the pool is closed and further examination can be done.

The leak was discussed during Davidson town council’s meeting on Tuesday as resident Milton Schilling visited as a delegate.

Schilling owns a house at 417 Toronto St., located adjacent to the pool. He told council that he has found water in the dirt basement of the house, adding he believes the pool is to blame.

“Your pool is leaking and it’s running into my basement,” he said. “You’ve got to fix the problem, to a certain extent.”

The Schilling family has owned the house since the 1950s; Milt said he currently has it rented to a tenant.

In recent years the house has had issues with ground water, owing to the high water table in the area, but Schilling said it has never been this wet before. He added that one neighbour has reported his sump pump has run constantly this summer.

Ouellette confirmed Wednesday that he had tested the water from Schilling’s basement in an attempt to determine its origin, but the results were inconclusive.

Asking council how they planned to address the issue, Schilling was told that the pool would not operate in this condition next year.

“We can’t run it another year like this,” said administrator Gary Edom, while Coun. Gerald Kenny said the town would need to investigate once the pool has closed.

“If worst comes to worst,” said Kenny, “people will have to live without the pool for the year.”

Mayor Clayton Schneider said the matter raises several questions, including how much the necessary repairs would cost, which he said is “an impossible question to answer at this point.”

For the full story, please see the Aug. 24 print edition of The Davidson Leader.