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A Court of King’s Bench justice in Saskatoon has ruled that a Pleasant Hill convenience store must close for 90 days under the province’s Safer Communities and Neighbourhoods Act.
According to a SCAN application, the court can issue what is known as a “community safety order” for several reasons, including when there is a “serious and immediate threat” to the health, safety and security of people living on the property or to people in the surrounding community or neighbourhood.
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The decision by Justice Ron Mills on Sept. 22 indicates there have been three complaints about 7 Days Confectionery and Grocery, located at 1507 20th Street West.
Court documents show the property has been solely owned by Mohammed N. Akhtar since March 2022.
The first two complaints about the property were made in June and July regarding suspected drug activity. A third complaint was also made by the Saskatoon Police Service.
Police say there have been 95 calls to the property so far in 2026, including 38 overdose calls. Since March 2022, police have been called to the property 193 times.
A boarded up window 7 Days Confectionery and Grocery store at 1507 20th Street West in Saskatoon contains a notice warning anyone on the property they could face charges. (Lara Fominoff/650 CKOM)
Affidavits were filed in court by Akhtar, SCAN investigator Logan Barker and SCAN video reviewer Sydney Dicus.
According to the judgment, an investigator testified that he visited the property on Aug. 7 and told Akhtar that a SCAN investigation was underway.
Video surveillance of the property was conducted over the course of a week, identifying between 13 and 38 people loitering on the property at any given time.
Police believe the property was not only a “hangout” but also a place where illegal cigarettes were being sold. Information from the Ministry of Finance indicated that Akhtar had previously been charged four times with selling illegal cigarettes.
In his affidavit, filed on Sept. 15, Akhtar said he had been taking steps to address the issues that were the subject of the complaints, including hiring a security guard. He added that three tenants were living in the building and that shutting down the property would leave them homeless.
Justice Mills wrote that a 90-day cooling-off period would “allow Mr. Akhtar an opportunity to rethink his operations and prevent people from causing the problems that SCAN is meant to prevent.”
The court order requires that any tenancy agreements or leases for the property be terminated. It also requires Akhtar to do everything reasonably possible to prevent the possession, use, consumption, sale, transfer or exchange of controlled substances on the property, as well as prevent people from engaging in those activities there.
The property remains fenced off to visitors. A notice on what appears to be a boarded-up window indicates the property has been closed and that anyone entering without approval would be in breach of a court order.
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