SPSA says proposed legislation would result in minimal changes
Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Northern Advocate
The Saskatchewan NDP has proposed new legislation that would see the provincial government develop a comprehensive province-wide strategy to combat wildfires.
Under the proposed Bill 609, the Ministry of Public Safety would be required to “update a provincial wildfire management strategy, maintain ongoing consultations with experts and Indigenous and community partners, and provide a clear, transparent public reporting,” reads and NDP news release from Dec. 2.
“This was a horrific summer for so many people in Northern Saskatchewan – I want them to know we’ve heard their calls for changes,” Saskatchewan NDP leader Carla Beck said in the press release. “We have a responsibility to make sure what happened this summer never happens again … The provincial government can never be caught flat-footed like this again.”
According to the press release, the government’s response to the 2025 wildfires is being investigated by the Provincial Ombudsman and two separate investigations from the Provincial Auditor.
Residents and firefighters from Denare Beach, a community with some of the most extensive damage this past summer, continue to call for a public inquiry into the Saskatchewan Government responses to the wildfires.
“The people of the North are tired of being ignored by this 18-year-old government,” said Athabasca MLA Leroy Laliberte, who introduced the bill in the Legislature. “Every community deserves a safe, secure future in this great province.”
Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail said in an interview with the Northern Advocate that he has heard people across the north have been “quite disappointed that their voices weren’t being listened to” on how to deal with wildfires.
McPhail is the Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs, Forestry, and SaskTel, and Associate Shadow Minister for Correction, Policing and Public Safety.
“We’ve had people fighting fires in the north for … up to 60 years … some were coming out of retirement—or wanting to come out of retirement—to offer their ideas on how to battle against some of the blazes we just heard time and time again,” McPhail said, adding many people have lived experience in the north with fighting wildfires.
“They fought fires for years and years and years and years and it’s been almost a teaching that’s been passed down generation to generation … these are things people in the north have known forever.
“The NDP team take the voices of those northern firefighters seriously, McPhail said.
The proposed legislation offers a “stronger accountability procedure for the provincial government, whether its NDP or Sask Party” in dealing leading the government.
In travelling the north, McPhail said, he’s heard the concerns from northerners, that wildfire activity is changing over the years.
In response, the provincial government, said that “protecting the people, property and resources of our province will always be top priority for the Government of Saskatchewan and SPSA.”
The 2025 wildfire season was “unprecedented,” the government said in a statement, and involved “community leaders and local experts, including retired firefighters with decades of experience.”
According to the statement they fought wildfires alongside national and international fire behaviour experts brought in by the province’s mutual aid agreements.
”This effort was greatly bolstered by sixty-four municipal and volunteer fire departments who each contributed a wealth of knowledge and service,” reads the statement.
The government said a consultation process suggested by the NDP would result in minimal changes.
“The only change the NDP’s bill would introduce is additional red tape when responding to emergency situations,” reads the statement.
“The Wildfire Management Strategies developed in 2005 is an implementation guide for the Fire and Forest Insect Disease Policy Framework. As part of this strategy, the Agency works year round to implement prevention and preparedness plans across Saskatchewan, prioritizing community partnership and engagement in order to afford communities the highest level of protection.”
The SPSA engaged consumer insolvency firm MNP to “lead an independent review into the 2025 wildfire season is taking “meaningful actions to learn from the 2025 wildfire response.” They will make public any results before the 2026 season. Information on MNP Ltd comes from MNP’s website.
MNP team have done a number of “large scale post-incident reviews across Canada,” according to the statement.
With the increasing heat and length of time wildfires are burning in recent years, McPhail said the proposed legislation would bring out the views of those who have lived in the north and who “understand water tables, understand when river systems and lakes are high or low in certain areas, what’s at risk.”
“This Bill gives that opportunity for those local voices to be heard and gives the government, ultimately, a stronger sense of what they need to do to make sure that they’re successful each and every year in battling wildfires in Northern Saskatchewan,” he said.
