UNPRECEDENTED WILDFIRE SEASON, MOE RESPONDS WITH ‘ESSENTIALLY A BIT OF A STATUS QUO’ IN BAD NEWS BUDGET

Sask. Party Has Stalled Legislation Leading To Creation Of Provincial Wildfire Strategy
REGINA – People in the North still rebuilding after 2025’s unprecedented wildfire says Scott Moe’s bad news budget doesn’t do nearly enough to protect from a future tragedy.

Even Moe’s own Finance Minister told reporters last week that the budget, “is essentially a bit of a status quo with an increase.” Jim Reiter said he hoped this year’s wildfire season wouldn’t be as bad.

“Hope is not a strategy,” said Carla Beck, Saskatchewan NDP Leader. “This budget is just the latest move by Scott Moe and the Sask. Party to show they’ve learned nothing from last year’s horrible mismanagement of the wildfire crisis.
“The people of the North — all Saskatchewan people for that matter — deserve better. It’s time for change.”

The budget has been met with criticism from numerous people who responded on the frontlines to the wildfire.

Candyce Paul, emergency management coordinator for English River First Nation, said, “I want to hope that they would have had more resources, more money put into having more equipment, paying more fire suppression crews.”
Jim Arnold, chief of the Candle Lake fire department, said more funding is needed for forestry management and establishing firebreaks, adding, “Honestly, we need to put way more money into preparing for wildfires rather than fighting wildfires.”

Leroy Laliberte, Shadow Minister for First Nations & Metis Relations, was joined Monday for a Saskatoon news conference by Harley Vliegenthart, a volunteer firefighter who heroically stayed back to fight the fire in Denare Beach, which destroyed over 200 homes.

“Nothing that happened last year was OK — we were effectively abandoned,” Vliegenthart said. “I fear this budget says no lessons have been learned and our communities will be left at risk again this year.

“Local people in Denare and elsewhere haven’t forgotten what happened and they deserve a voice in how we move forward to protect these communities.

In the fall, Laliberte introduced legislation that would require the creation of a provincial wildfire strategy in consultation with local leaders.
Laliberte called for immediate passage of his legislation.

“If Scott wants to demonstrate that he’s learned from his mistakes last year, that he truly cares, he would pass this legislation today,” Laliberte said. “We need to get serious about protecting homes, protecting our communities.
“It’s time for change.”

Northern Affairs Shadow Minister Jordan McPhail called for the independent review promised by the government of the wildfire response to be made public immediately.

“How can Scott Moe claim to be properly responding to the wildfire crisis without clear recommendations from the review and without properly consulting people impacted by last year’s disaster?” McPhail said.

“I know so many people who haven’t even been asked for their advice — these are people that have been fighting fires in the North for decades.”

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