In all, 15,000 people were ordered to evacuate their homes over the past month. In consultations with community leaders and impacted families, many expressed concerns about mounting utility costs as they attempt to recover from the crisis and, in some cases, rebuild their homes and entire communities.
“These folks have been through so much — this is one way to provide immediate help as they get back on their feet,” said Aleana Young, Saskatchewan NDP Shadow Minister for SaskPower.
“We have heard over and over from people impacted by this wildfire crisis that the Sask Party has failed them. To this day, too many haven’t seen a single cent of financial relief while racking up thousands of dollars in food and accommodation costs.
“They need help and waiving utility costs is a step in the right direction.”
Young sent a letter to Minister Jeremy Harrison urging the utility reprieve Thursday morning. Providing immediate assistance from Crowns to help with fees and costs of rebuilding utility services like power, phone, and internet lines was one of five pillars in a plan released earlier this week by Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck and Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail to help rebuild the North.
“We can’t undo the series of failures by this government to respond to the wildfire crisis over the past several weeks, but this is a chance for them to help people right here and right now,” said Jordan McPhail, MLA for Cumberland.
McPhail added that communities that were isolated due to fire were also forced to throw out thousands of dollars of food that had gone to waste in their fridges and freezers.
“The people of the North are resilient, they’re strong and they will recover from this. But they deserve a government that’s in the corner and we haven’t seen that once during this crisis,” McPhail said.
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