Last month the Provincial Ombudsman opened up an investigation about concerns over the provincial government’s handling of the wildfire crisis and the Saskatchewan NDP are hoping Ombudsman Sharon Pratchler will give attention to three areas the Saskatchewan NDP believe should be included: Housing and income support for evacuees, mental health support for evacuees and first responders and emergency alert system failure.
Saskatchewan NDP Northern Affairs Shadow Minister Jordan McPhail says on evacuation day for him and his family out of La Ronge, he had to drive down the highway with flames on both sides and knows what the community members went through to get to the side of safety and the evacuees deserve better.
Shadow Minister McPhail says the evacuees didn’t know what was going to happen to their homes and small business as they evacuated and some lost contact with loved ones for hours and days, and it was chaos. He says the evacuees deserved a government that had their backs, and the provincial government failed immediately. McPhail says they still hear from many evacuees who have not received a single dime of financial support from the government despite racking up thousands of debts for food, accommodations, travel and more.
In the letter to the Ombudsman, the Saskatchewan NDP have outlined the following for her consideration:
-Housing and Income Supports for Evacuees: Many displaced residents reported lengthy delays in receiving income assistance, insufficient access to temporary housing, and a lack of culturally appropriate supports during evacuation. Some families were left without clarity or financial security for weeks on end.
-Mental Health Support for Evacuees and First Responders: Both evacuees and emergency responders have described profound trauma and emotional strain during and after evacuations. The availability and accessibility of mental health services – especially trauma-informed and culturally appropriate care for Indigenous residents and front-line personnel-should be evaluated.
-Emergency Alert System Failure: The failure to implement a more effective and timely emergency alert system placed lives at risk. Reports of alerts being missed, delayed, or inconsistently distributed have been a major concern raised by community members and leaders alike. A systemic review should include whether existing systems were adequate, and why a previous tender for a new and improved system was abandoned.
The letter states the people of the North deserve not only transparency and accountability from their government, but a better response next time people are put in this situation. Additionally, The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency held their wildfire update today and responded to the Saskatchewan NDP’s claim the emergency app was ineffective. Steve Roberts is the Vice President of Operations for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and says, “During the peak in La Ronge there were two alerts that went out instead of one that was a follow up, so back-to-back alerts caused some confusion.
The other instance was when the Weyakwin community posted their alert, it was entered covering the area of Prince Albert, so Prince Albert received the alert even though the evacuation wasn’t for Prince Albert. The Sask Alert System is run, and it is open access, so we train communities and their emergency service providers to enter data and use the system, and we can also do that from the 911 centre, so there’s a number of points that information can get in, causing some overlap or a miss. Of all the evacuation alerts that have gone out, the majority have been accurate and timely, giving the right information but there were a couple instances of overlap, but it was in a broader way than it needed to be for the situation.”
