For the past eleven years, Canine Action Project has been providing care to animals in the community of Sturgeon Lake First Nation through a temporary veterinary clinic. However, a recent decision by the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association (SVMA) has halted those efforts. The SVMA denied CAP’s application to host a temporary clinic on the First Nation this month. “It’s just really frustrating that the rug kind of got pulled out underneath both of us,” said Meagan Schmitz, co-executive director of Canine Action Project. “Sturgeon Lake is also calling for the SVMA to reverse their decision because it’s not increasing access to equitable care.” Over a decade of work Schmitz explained that the organization’s work in various First Nation communities began with addressing the issue of stray and overpopulated dogs. This involved finding homes across Western Canada for pets that were surrendered or removed. Canine Action Project then began a more proactive approach in 2012, which included an on-site, subsidized spay and neuter program, in addition to a handful of other services like deworming. “It also provides updated wellness exams and vaccines and deworming to pets that are already sterilized,” Schmitz explained. “We’ve been doing these on-site clinics in the partner First Nation since 2012.” Sturgeon Lake First Nation became one of those partner First Nations in 2015, and CAP has returned at least once a year for the past eleven years to provide subsidized veterinary services for the community. Canine Action Project itself is not a veterinary practice – the program works thanks to volunteer vets and vet techs in addition to general volunteers who organize the temporary clinics. CAP’s work involves applying for approval from the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association, which is the provincial regulatory body. “Really surprised” Since CAP had been in compliance with the SVMA for years, the recent denial came as a shock. “There’s certain criteria and parameters that have to be met to ensure that we’re practicing safe medicine and all those things. And we were really surprised when we received a denial from the Practice Standards Committee,” Schmitz said. The co-executive director said the decision was especially confusing as other temporary clinics with similar circumstances had received SVMA approval. “They gave a distance criteria that stated because the community was within 150 kilometres [of] and or two hours [from] existing veterinary services, that the on-site clinic would be denied,” Schmitz said. “We just did ... an on-site clinic, and had approval for one in Big River, which is also similarly located within that proximity to existing, better practices.” Schmitz shared that this distance requirement was something that CAP hadn’t dealt with in over a decade of operating the temporary clinics. “There was no communication from the SVMA or the Practice Standards Committee that there was going to be changes in the criteria or the rules. This distance criteria had never existed before. And so, we were really blindsided by the denial and the reasoning for it,” Schmitz said. Accessibility concerns While the Sturgeon Lake First Nation is near veterinary clinics for those able to travel, Schmitz says the 150 animals scheduled to receive care at the temporary clinic will not be able to receive care as easily from the clinics in larger centres. She added that the two vet clinics in Prince Albert are already operating at capacity. “Even if we were to book any surgeries in there, one of the vet clinics is booking three months in advance for a dog spay,” Schmitz said. The temporary clinics operate with accessibility in mind, to help as many animals as possible during their time in the communities. Schmitz emphasized that driving to the nearest veterinary clinic does not solve many of the issues that CAP aims to solve. “Just because veterinary services exist within a certain proximity does not mean that people can access it. So that is a public health concern. It’s a public safety concern,” she said. “We’re all just trying to do the best that we can with the very limited resources that we have available to us.” Support from Sturgeon Lake These sentiments were echoed by Chief Christine Longjohn, who expressed frustration regarding the decision in a statement released by Sturgeon Lake First Nation. “Our partnership with Canine Action Project works ... it is trusted by our members, grounded in our community’s needs and supported by more than a decade’s worth of results,” Longjohn said. The statement shared that between March of 2025 and March of 2026, the organization responded to 328 requests from residents, facilitated 45 spay and neuter procedures, helped 33 animals receive urgent medical care, and removed or rehomed 63 animals. “A clinic on a map is not the same as accessible care. Financial hardship, limited transportation, and systemic inequities do not disappear because a clinic exists within a prescribed radius,” Longjohn said. Schmitz told CTV News that the First Nation pays for all of the supplies and additional expenses that come along with the efforts, and that CAP does not make any money off the temporary clinic. She added that the only money exchanged with the SVMA is the application fee that the CAP must pay when organizing the temporary clinics. “It is frustrating, and especially because there was no communication,” she said, adding that CAP received letters of support from Sturgeon Lake and local veterinary clinics in its appeal to the SVMA. CTV News has reached out to the Saskatchewan Veterinary Medical Association for comment.
