AIR RONGE — The Saskatchewan NDP is continuing to call on the Sask. Party government to step in with emergency aid and resources to ensure evacuees receive the support they desperately need, as the mayor of a northern town is speaking out.
Air Ronge Mayor Julie Baschuk said many of her constituents are hungry and sleeping in tents, vehicles, or backyards. They’re facing undignified conditions a week into the evacuation, she said.
"It is disgusting to see how our people are being treated,” Baschuk told CBC.
"They're being turned away and they're being told there is nothing they can be helped with. We are talking thousands of displaced people from our communities up here in the Lac La Ronge region.”
Baschuk said the core issue lies in the lack of coordination and mixed messaging from those leading the emergency response. The ongoing confusion led her to write a formal letter to Premier Moe, urging his government to deliver a coherent and coordinated plan for evacuees.
"We ourselves as leaders are getting the run-around, quite frankly. And if we ourselves don't have that proper information … how do we expect our residents to figure this system out?"
Baschuk noted that she has been in frequent contact with the SPSA and emphasized that both the agency and Premier Moe are fully aware that numerous evacuees remain without adequate food, clothing, or shelter.
Jordan McPhail, MLA for Cumberland, says the government is out of touch with the reality facing those displaced by the wildfires.
“This is what we’ve been hearing from people in the North for two weeks since these evacuations began,” he said. “No financial aid, sometimes no housing and total chaos.
“These evacuees are dealing with some of the worst days of their lives, the least the Sask. Party could do is ensure they have a roof over their heads and some food in their bellies.”
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