SASK. NDP CALLS FOR PROVINCIAL AUDITOR TO INVESTIGATE GROUNDED AIR TANKERS DURING WILDFIRE CRISIS

REGINA – The Saskatchewan NDP is calling on the Provincial Auditor to launch a special investigation into the Ministry of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety and the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), following the government’s failure to properly maintain and deploy key firefighting aircraft during this year’s wildfire crisis.

In a formal letter, the Saskatchewan NDP has requested a full review of the government’s decisions, procedures, expenditures, and policies relating to the province’s air tanker fleet — including why five water bombers were left grounded while wildfires swept through northern communities.

“Our team is hearing daily from people forced to flee their homes. They deserve to know whether government mismanagement contributed to the loss of their homes, livelihoods, or worse,” said Hugh Gordon, NDP MLA and Member of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts.

Any investigation by the Provincial Auditor would return to the committee for review and scrutiny.

The Sask. Party has confirmed that at least four of the province’s legacy air tankers were unfit to fly due to unresolved maintenance issues and a lack of parts. A newly purchased aircraft also sat idle — grounded because the Sask. Party government failed to train qualified pilots in time for fire season.

“These planes could have made a difference — instead, they sat on the tarmac while communities in the North burned,” said Jordan McPhail, Saskatchewan NDP Cumberland MLA. “The people of the North deserve answers, not excuses.”

“We don’t have to settle for a government that’s asleep at the wheel or simply doesn’t care,” Gordon added. “Saskatchewan deserves better.”

The Saskatchewan NDP will continue to stand with evacuees and press for full transparency and accountability from the Sask. Party government.

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