Wildfires across Canada caused thick smoke to blanket much of Saskatchewan over the long weekend.
While the haze was at its worst in the Prince Albert area on Sunday, Environment Canada’s air quality advisory continued on Monday.
Prince Albert was listed as 10+ or “very high risk” on the health index. Environment Canada expects the severity to start dropping on Tuesday.
“Wildfire smoke concentrations can fluctuate over short distances and vary considerably from hour to hour,” reads a statement issued on Monday morning.
Saskatoon and Regina were also sitting at 10+, for example, while the northern village of Buffalo Narrows and Estevan in the southern part of the province were ranked at two and three.
However, those two communities were projected to worsen into the week.
Prince Albert’s Parkland Ambulance said Sunday “was by the far the worst day of the year” for wildfire smoke.
Any amount of smoke, though, can irritate those with breathing problems, such as asthma or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
Environment Canada also said wildfire smoke can affect everyone’s health, even at low concentrations.
It’s best to stay indoors as much as possible until air quality improves, according to Parkland. If you have to go outside, limit exercise.
Smoke can also impact your pets, especially shorter-snout animals who are already more susceptible to breathing troubles.
Parkland said if you’re increasing medication use, such as an inhaler, but your breathing is getting worse, visit a health clinic, the hospital, or call paramedics. Healthline 811 is also available for advice 24/7.
Across Canada, wildfires across Canada are largely occurring in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories.
As of Monday afternoon, Saskatchewan had 22 active wildfires. All of them are ongoing assessment, meaning the fire is being monitored to assess its risk in the area.
A summer-long poetry project is wrapping up with an open mic this weekend.
Lynda Monahan, with support from the City of Prince Albert, put out a call for poetry submissions inspired by the word hope.
She narrowed down over 70 submissions to 30 – 10 of which were displayed in sign posts along the riverbank, and the rest displayed in shop windows and throughout the mall downtown.
Monahan has invited 10 of those poets to read their work aloud in memorial square on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 11 a.m. Afterwards, other writers can step up to the mic and read their poems about hope.
“I think this project has been a very positive thing for downtown PA in many ways. We’ve certainly had lots of really good feedback about the work and people have enjoyed reading the poems,” said Monahan.
“It’s a celebration of poetry, but also a celebration of hope.”
According to a description of the event, the poems ranged in topics from the poets’ personal lives, to meditation, to descriptions of scenery around the city.
The prompt came from Vern Hodgins. At the beginning of the pandemic, Hodgins began writing ‘hope’ in random places for people to find, whether it was in the snow or dirt or painted on rocks.
“People were really responding to that,” said Monahan, so she wanted to expand on it.
“It has touched people’s lives in so many ways and he’s still spreading that message of hope all over the place.”
Monahan said that concluding with an open mic expands the opportunity to other writers who would like to share their work.
“Of course, we just couldn’t accept all of the submissions, even though there was some really wonderful work. Here’s an opportunity for some of those poems to get a little bit of notice,” she said.
Monahan said the writers of the accepted poems received an honorarium through a grant. The project was supported by the city’s Municipal Cultural Action Plan.
Monahan said the sign posts used to display the poems along the riverbank will be used for the upcoming Culture Days for poems about culture.
The Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) is receiving national support for its work using cultural burning for wildfire mitigation and habitat restoration.
The We Are Fire project was developed from the broader muskrats to moose initiative. An exhibit at Prince Albert’s On The Avenue Artisans Gallery in August showcased field camps at the Saskatchewan River Delta to teach others about Indigenous-led fire practices.
“Our Indigenous people, that’s a practice they want to continue to do,” said Cliff Buettner, PAGC director of forestry and emergency protective services.
“Regulations and policy I think have restricted it somewhat, so there’s been kind of a lull in the action over a period of time. We’re trying to revitalize the idea of using fire as a habitat restoration tool.”
For example, Buettner explained, burning invasive Phragmites allows other plants to grow that muskrats will eat, such as calamus root and cattails.
For mitigation of wildfires, Buettner said crews will thin trees surrounding Indigenous communities that would fuel a wildfire.
Buettner has been advocating for burning in the Saskatchewan River Delta since 2005 on a moose management committee. According to the We Are Fire website, the practice enhances habitats of cultural keystone species like moose, fish and birds.
The delta provides a critical habitat for about 500,000 birds to breed and raise their young – a large number for the area of land.
“If I look at Solomon Carriere, a guy that lives there and grew up there, he said ‘I was never taught to fight fire, I was taught to light fire.’ His knowledge of the land and knowing when to burn is important,” said Buettner.
Rather than starting prescribed fires through the province’s permitting system, cultural burning listens to the land.
“What this has done has allowed us to use that traditional knowledge to burn past that date, where it’s not a calendar date, it’s the conditions on the land, what they see.”
The opening of the exhibit in mid-August saw an announcement from a federal minister.
Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources, announced nearly $525,000 in funding for a two-year pilot program in partnership with the PAGC.
“The Indigenous Wildfire Stewards Pilot program will increase capacity to prepare for and respond to wildfires through training and traditional ecological knowledge,” said Wilkinson in a news release.
“This means providing people with the skills needed to identify and fight wildfires in their communities.”
Parks Canada, Prince Albert Model Forest and the PAGC have also invested in the project.
“Overall, the pilot project underscores the indispensable role the First Nations play in safeguarding our communities, ancestral lands and Inherent and Treaty rights, particularly in the face of climate change,” added PAGC Grand-Chief Brian Hardlotte.
Buettner said after the We Are Fire website launched, members presented at a Firesmart conference in British Columbia. Most recently, they were accepted to present at a conference in California in December.
Hazel Harris doesn’t need to know the details of Seth Deschambault’s disappearance. She just wants to know where he is.
“Just grab my hand and lead me to the spot and walk away,” she said. “No questions asked.”
“We don’t care what happened, what went down. God saw everything, God will be the judge of that.”
Harris is Deschambault’s biological aunt, but raised him since he was three months old in Cumberland House Cree Nation.
Deschambault, who had just turned 18 years old, was last seen in Prince Albert on May 29, 2022.
“Investigators believe that Seth may have been the victim of a homicide,” reads an RCMP statement on Friday.
“This investigation is active and ongoing, as such we do not have further details to release at this time.”
Harris said her family is offering a $10,000 reward to anybody who can point them to the exact location of Deschambault.
“People keep phoning us and telling us he’s in Muskoday, he’s in the water, he’s over here, but that’s not telling us where he is,” she said.
Harris said she last spoke with him over the phone on Friday, May 27. A few friends picked him up and were going to spend the weekend in Prince Albert.
She remembers that day well – it was her late mom’s birthday.
“He goes ‘It’s the old lady’s birthday.’ I said ‘Yes, it is. It’s her birthday today.’ ‘Happy birthday gran,’ I said ‘Happy birthday, mother.’ You know, we chit-chatted,” Harris described.
“He goes ‘I love you, auntie.’ I said ‘I love you, son. Be safe, please.’ And that’s the last time I talked to him.”
Harris said he had gone to a party over the weekend. He never returned home.
When RCMP Major Crimes investigators approached her, she “knew right away something was wrong, like he was probably gone.”
Harris said it’s rumoured that one person in particular potentially killed Deschambault. However, she said, there was likely a large group of friends that know what happened and helped cover it up.
As police always say, she’s hoping that overtime, those friendships fall apart and they begin to come forward with information.
“There’s about 10 of them that know something, there was like 10 of them standing around just watching it go down. They know,” said Harris.
“Even though you don’t want to be known, it’s you or you know where he is, just tell somebody to tell us.”
Deschambault remembered for love of basketball
Harris said Deschambault had plans to go to Saskatoon after graduating high school for a post-secondary education.
Although he wasn’t entirely sure of what to pursue, one thing was certain – he wanted to play basketball.
“Lots of kids miss him, and his basketball friends have a yearly three on three tournament, they had a second annual already, in his honour,” said Harris.
“That was his number one thing. He went to school, he was very smart for his age, very smart.”
Deschambault was apprehended from his biological mother as a newborn, according to Harris. She said they had just started talking and getting to know each other.
He had a lot of opportunity ahead of him, she said, that’s now been ripped away.
Harris’ focus is on spreading Deschambault’s story as much as possible in order to generate new leads.
This gives her hope that soon, Deschambault will come home.
The Saskatchewan government is putting more competitive measures in place as it struggles to recruit psychiatrists in Prince Albert.
In a statement sent to the Herald on Tuesday evening, the Ministry of Health said filling two vacant full-time child and youth psychiatry positions in the city is a “top priority.”
“The SHA (Saskatchewan Health Authority) and the new Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency are actively recruiting for these positions across Saskatchewan, Canada, and internationally,” it reads.
The ministry said it has put in place a $200,000 recruitment incentive. Additionally, according to the statement, the ministry has provided funding to the SHA to implement a team-based care model for patients.
This comes after a leaked SHA memo, which informs staff that the inpatient child and youth psychiatric unit at the Victoria Hospital can not admit patients effective Aug. 18.
This is the third time in three years the unit has closed.
On Tuesday, the Opposition NDP held a news conference responding to the closure. NDP Leader Carla Beck and Prince Albert Northcote candidate Nicole Rancourt said the province needs to focus on retention of health care workers.
A group of Prince Albert organizations providing addictions support gathered in Kinsmen Park on Thursday to spread awareness.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority hosted the event for International Overdose Awareness Day. The gathering intended to fight stigmas surrounding addictions and help those impacted access resources, according to Reyna Siwak from Prince Albert Mobile Crisis.
“We need a lot more resources, to be honest, but what we have right now is amazing,” she said.
“We have more people in our community who are suffering as a result of the traumas that they’ve endured in the past and, I mean, it doesn’t just impact them – it impacts their family, it impacts the community.”
Often, Siwak said, people associate addictions with those who are “down in their life.” However, addiction doesn’t discriminate to one demographic.
“It’s everyone,” she said.
Mobile Crisis provides support for a range of topics, whether it be addictions, grief, self-harm, or mental health-related crises.
“It helps you see where people are at in their lives and if you can be able to be that support for them, it’s very rewarding.”
The public had access free Naloxone kits, education and training at the gathering.
Siwak said she’s trained to use Naloxone. Thankfully, though, she’s never had to use it.
Naloxone is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids, which are pain-relieving drugs such as fentanyl, codeine and oxycodone.
“It’s there to make sure that people aren’t going to die, and that’s the biggest thing,” said Siwak. “It takes very little to be able to learn about it.”
If someone is overdosing from opioids, they may have slow or no breathing, tiny or pinpoint pupils, cold or clammy skin and aren’t moving or can’t be woken. If the person is unresponsive, call 911 and start CPR.
Even if you’re unsure what drugs the person took, use naloxone, according to a brochure from Access Place. It won’t do any harm if an opioid is not present.
You can also use take-home drug testing strips that detect fentanyl or benzodiazepine.
The provincial government has launched a new multi-year overdose awareness campaign. This year focuses on Regina’s Ivy Kennedy, who lost two of her grandchildren to overdoses.
“It’s been hard to talk about it. It’s an every day struggle,” said Kennedy.
“I tried my best to save them. They didn’t want to die. Don’t give up. There is help out there, all you have to do is ask.”
Canada’s Good Samaritan Overdose Act protects you from possession charges if you call 911 for overdose assistance. It became law in 2017.
It does not protect you from more serious crimes, though, such as outstanding warrants or drug trafficking.
UPDATED: This story was updated on Wednesday, Aug. 30 to include a statement from the Ministry of Health.
For the third time in three years, families cannot access inpatient psychiatric care for youth in Prince Albert.
The Opposition NDP is responding to a leaked Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) memo, informing staff that the unit will not be able to admit patients effective August 18.
“The proof is in the closed beds that we see behind us – this is not an effective plan,” said NDP leader Carla Beck.
“They keep saying they’re working on it, that things will get better, but that’s not what we see.”
The SHA recruited a part-time youth psychiatrist in March, allowing the inpatient unit to operate with two short-term beds. It has a 10-bed capacity.
Nicole Rancourt, the NDP candidate for Prince Albert Northcote, said she received information that the part-time psychiatrist was moving to Saskatoon. This information has not been confirmed from the SHA.
The SHA is working on recruiting for two vacant full-time positions. According to a statement from the Ministry of Health, this is a “top priority” for the provincial government.
“The SHA and the new Saskatchewan Healthcare Recruitment Agency are actively recruiting for these positions across Saskatchewan, Canada, and internationally,” it reads.
The ministry said it has put in place a $200,000 recruitment incentive in order to make Prince Albert more competitive in recruiting child psychiatrists. Additionally, according to the statement, the ministry has provided funding to the SHA to implement a team-based care model for patients.
Rancourt said when she left her position as a social worker for outpatient services in 2016, her department had six adult psychiatrists and two youth psychiatrists.
“We still felt that that didn’t meet the needs,” she said. “Things are getting worse.”
Both Rancourt and Beck said the provincial government is not focusing on retention of health care workers.
They referenced Dr. Randy Zbuk, who left his full-time youth psychiatrist position at the Victoria Hospital a year ago. He told the Saskatoon StarPhoenix that he was “grossly under-resourced” with no coverage to take time off and a lack of full-time nurses to assist him.
“It’s actually expressing anxiety about hearing the phone ringing when someone finally has a day off and they’re worried about being called in again,” said Beck.
“Some of the things that we have proposed: Grow your own health care education in the province, looking for people specifically who want to live in a smaller urban centre.”
She said the SHA should be recruiting more than one psychiatrist at a time so that they’re able to take time off of work.
Premier Scott Moe’s cabinet shuffle on Tuesday included Everett Hindley as the new minister of health, replacing Paul Merriman. In the past, Hindley has been the minister of mental health and addictions, seniors, and rural and remote health.
“We’ve seen cabinet shuffles several times on that side, I have not seen anything change,” said Beck.
The leaked memo, dated August 16, said “the decision has been made due to significant shortages within the psychiatry team.”
“Ongoing efforts to recruit continue and we will be sure to inform everyone once we are able to re-open our beds in Prince Albert and establish child and youth inpatient services.”
Beck said the government must listen to health care workers and patients because they know the system best and can identify gaps.
“This is something that we see time and time again from this government – overpromising and underdelivering,” she said.
Rose Daschuk had a personality just like the hospice – welcoming and loving.
“My mom was bigger than life. If you talked to anybody that knew her, she lit up a room and she was amazing,” said Rose’s daughter, Marina Mitchell.
Rose died in 2007 at 49 years old, about a year and a half after being diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. It was then that her family looked into the need for hospice care in Prince Albert, a comfortable and homey space for terminally ill patients.
Fast forward 15 years, the Rose Garden Hospice is ready to welcome its first guests.
“It just was a feeling like I have actually never really felt before. I just felt all the love that was here, the love in the building, the people,” described Mitchell about cutting the ribbon.
“I know she’s proud, proud of everyone who has had a hand in helping build this.”
Contributors of the Rose Garden Hospice cut a ribbon to open the building on Aug. 29, 2023. – Jayda Taylor/Daily Herald
Mitchell, who led fundraising efforts, described the Rose Garden Hospice as a community project. She said she would be speaking for hours if she listed off every person or group who has donated over the years.
The hospice will be ready for its first guest in mid-September. The 10-bed building features spacious bedrooms and bathrooms, a cozy living room with a fireplace and a large kitchen.
It’s located on a 10-acre parcel of land, donated by Fred Trach, at 500 38th St W.
The newly-opened Rose Garden Hospice has a large living area with a fireplace that’s next to the kitchen. – Jayda Taylor/Daily Herald
Around the time that the organization was eyeing construction, the COVID-19 pandemic hit. This created plenty of challenges, especially around the skyrocketing price of building materials.
A single sheet of OSB went from $12 to about $100, explained Don Daschuk. The building committee had to re-work its plans to fit the budget.
The hospice had a fundraising goal of $4 million. Plenty of funds streamed in through donations from local families, doctors and entrepreneurs, from the Daschuk family themselves, and from campaigns such as the Econo Lumber 2×6 initiative.
“My mom, for years, made 13 dozen perogies every day and sold them and that money went to the hospice,” said Don, Rose’s husband.
“My sister and her had countless garage sales to raise money for the hospice, both here and in Arizona, and sadly my sister passed away before the hospice was completed.”
Don said after Rose’s death, his family toured hospices in Ontario. They wanted to model the future Prince Albert hospice off one in Burlington, which is community-based, he said.
Don said getting written support from the provincial government was a difficult undertaking. He credited MLA Joe Hargrave for advocating for the project.
All of those difficulties were worth it, he said, knowing that end-of-life patients can spend their last moments in a comfortable space.
“Our journey was like many others who have a similar diagnosis – in an out of doctor’s offices, treatments at the cancer centre and many trips to emergency at the Vic Hospital. Sometimes, we were able to go home, but quite often, it meant a stay in the hospital,” said Don.
“I spent many days and nights in the hospital with not much sleep.”
It’s impossible to capture in photos, but here’s a look at the 10-bed Rose Garden Hospice. The bedrooms/bathrooms are extremely spacious, the living area and kitchen are comfortable and homey. Congratulations to the many, many people who made this happen! @PADailyHeraldpic.twitter.com/ICW6s53np8
One of the many donors was philanthropist and Canadian Tire owner Malcolm Jenkins.
He raised money for the hospice in several ways, whether it was teaming up with the Broadway North Theatre Company to donate a portion of ticket sales or selling thousands of boxes of Toffifee at Christmas time.
“There were probably 50 different things, and they’ve all added up to this,” he said.
According to its website, the Rose Garden Hospice will be available to terminally ill patients who have less than three months to live.
The Prince Albert Construction Association (PACA) has made a donation towards support for people with intellectual disabilities.
On Monday, PACA members gave KIN Enterprises just over $1,500.
The money came from its annual golf tournament at Cooke Municipal Golf Course. President Dan Yungwirth said the tournament sold out with 144 golfers from across Saskatchewan.
“We’re just happy to support organizations like KIN in the community. It’s one of those organizations that works behind the scenes, but helps make the community work, and we’re happy to support that,” he said.
Yungwirth said the committee chooses a different charity or organization each year to donate proceeds from the tournament. They’ve donated several times to the food bank in the past, he said.
PACA represents the area’s construction industry, including general contractors, subcontractors, and mechanical, electrical and alarm companies. It also works with construction associations on the provincial and national level, along with other trade-based groups.
“We’ll definitely use the money to provide supports and maybe outings in the community, trips for our participants. They’ll be very thankful and appreciative,” said Hillary Brahniuk, KIN’s director of programs and services.
This summer, for example, they went to the Kinsmen Water Park in Prince Albert and Saskatoon’s Forestry Farm Park and Zoo and Western Development Museum.
The organization also helps people with intellectual disabilities find jobs.
“We get so much satisfaction out of our jobs, seeing that enjoyment and love,” she said.
The 40th Street Grill, next to its main building, includes participants in operating the restaurant. According to the KIN Enterprises website, this inclusion teaches people with disabilities practical skills such as cooking, cleaning and taking payments.
KIN Enterprises operates out of three locations in Prince Albert.
The outgoing Treaty Commissioner of Saskatchewan was honoured with a star blanket in Prince Albert on Monday.
Mary Musqua-Culbertson is the first woman to be appointed to the role, which includes facilitating meetings between the Crown and First Nations to discuss Treaty issues and engaging the public in Treaty rights.
After six years, Musqua-Culbertson is leaving the position at the end of January.
“I was very thankful and very honoured to be recognized by our largest tribal council for the amount of work that we have done,” she said.
This includes creating a chief’s governance committee, an elder’s council and the only Treaty archives in North America, she said. During her time as the Treaty commissioner, the office has also come out with a Treaty Learning Journey designed to build on in-classroom resources by bringing Treaty awareness to the public.
The Prince Albert Grand Council (PAGC) presented Musqua-Culbertson with a star blanket during the opening ceremonies of its three-day Gathering of the Nations.
Like their bonnets, the chiefs explained, the star blanket represents high recognition among Indigenous people.
“We were not given all of the promises. There was shortfall,” said PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte.
“This woman worked tirelessly.”
Several chiefs, including PAGC Grand Chief Brian Hardlotte, Wahpeton Dakota Nation Chief John Waditaka and Red Earth Cree Nation Chief Zachary Whitecap, attended Gathering of the Nations on Aug. 28, 2023. – Jayda Taylor/Daily Herald
“I’m really excited to move on. You can only be somewhere so long, and I feel like I used a really good amount of my energy and lives in this job,” added Musqua-Culbertson.
Growing up, her mom’s side of the family always spoke about politics.
“I’m very fortunate to understand as I got older, not everybody got to grow up in houses like that because of residential schools, because of the 60s scoop, because of the pass and permit system, because of the Indian Act,” she said.
“As I went through school and university, it was just more and more clear that there was a lot of inequity and injustice.”
Treaties are formal agreements between the Crown and First Nations, according to the Office of the Treaty Commissioner (OTC).
Eleven numbered Treaties were negotiated after Confederation, stretching from present day Ontario to Alberta, along with parts of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. Saskatchewan contains six Treaties.
Musqua-Culbertson is a member of Keeseekoose First Nation in Treaty 4, the first to earn a Juris Doctor from University of Saskatchewan Law and to practice law in the province.
“My passion for it is basic human rights,” she said.
“It’s our inherent right to exercise our Treaty rights when we’re born and we have so much work to do in fixing those things, so much work, because even today you see the inequities.”
Musqua-Culbertson gave the example of language. Not many Indigenous people can speak their language fluently, she said, including herself.
But Indigenous gatherings like this one go back to the core of traditional ways of life.
“To hear everyone talking their languages, hearing the caribou drums, it’s so beautiful and when you hear that heartbeat, that’s our interconnectedness.”
Gathering of the Nations on until Wednesday
The PAGC’s Gathering of the Nations runs from Monday to Wednesday at the Chief Joseph Custer Reserve across from the Victoria Hospital.
The PAGC has organized a variety of activities to learn about First Nations culture, both for adults and youth.
Monday included entertainment from the Northern Prairie Dancers, musicians such as Dillon Gazandlare and Violet and Lilly Naytowhow and adult and youth talent shows. The youth tent was set up with games like potato sack racing, a pie eating contest, bingo and a scavenger hunt.
The event is set to continue on Tuesday with a mini pow wow, round dances, trapper event and a hypnotist. Wednesday’s lineup includes a youth sweat and jigging contests.
Drummers from Wahpeton Dakota Nation performed a victory song at the Gathering of the Nations opening ceremonies on Aug. 23, 2023. – Jayda Taylor/Daily Herald
“Let’s gather, let’s share the stories. Let’s share how life was in our nations back in the day,” said Hardlotte.
He encouraged youth, in particular, to take advantage of the learning opportunities and connect with elders.
“I challenge you, young people, go there, make your own dried meat and go hang it up. Wait for it to dry up and go feed it to an elder, that’s what this gathering is for.”
Some activities, such as a Texas Hold Em tournament, are taking place off reserve at the PAGC Urban Services building, formerly the Margo Fournier Centre.
