IN WAKE OF WILDFIRE CRISIS, NDP CALLS ON OMBUDSMAN TO INVESTIGATE LACK OF FINANCIAL SUPPORTS, HOUSING ISSUES, CANCELLED APP

Independent Officer Came Forward Last Month After Receiving More Complaints From Evacuees Than She Could Count

SASKATOON – The Saskatchewan NDP is formally calling on the Provincial Ombudsman to investigate a series of failures during the wildfire crisis in the North in late May and June.

Last month, Ombudsman came forward to raise major concerns with the lack of support for nearly 15,000 evacuees forced from their homes. Sharon Pratchler reported zero financial assistance for many, people being forced to sleep in their cars and mass confusion and communication issues.

Pratchler said her office received more complaints then she could count and committed to a formal investigation into these failures. On Thursday, Saskatchewan NDP Northern Affairs Shadow Minister Jordan McPhail wrote a letter asking her to consider several specific areas in her investigation, including:

Housing and Income Support for Evacuees
Mental Health Support for Evacuees and First Responders
Emergency Alert System Failure

“This was the scariest moment of a lifetime for so many people I’ve talked to,” McPhail said. They didn’t know what was going to happen to their homes, to their small businesses. Some lost contact with loved ones for hours and days.

It was chaos — and these people deserved a government that had their backs. The Sask. Party wasn’t there. They failed from hour one of this crisis.

“To this day, we hear from people who haven’t received a single dime of financial support from the government despite racking up thousands in debt for food, accommodation, travel and more.”

Saskatchewan NDP Public Safety Shadow Minister Nicole Sarauer said evacuees experienced profound trauma and emotional strain and there was a serious lack of available supports and resources.

“The people of the North were failed,” Sarauer said. “They deserve answers as to why.

“They deserve accountability from their government. They deserve better.”

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