Saskatchewan·NewSaskatchewan’s Opposition introduced a new private members bill to push for a provincial wildfire prevention strategy. ‘They let us down,’ says former firefighter who quit the province’s public safety agency in frustrationAliyah Marko-Omene · CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 12:10 PM EST | Last Updated: 20 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Trevor Sewap, from left, Athabasca MLA Leroy Laliberte and Jordan McPhail, NDP critic for northern affairs, at the the Saskatchewan Legislative Building Tuesday. “A law like this shouldn’t be necessary, but it is, under this tired 18-year-old government,” McPhail said. (Kirk Fraser/ CBC)Saskatchewan needs legislation to compel its provincial government to take appropriate steps against wildfires because the government can’t be trusted to do the job properly without it, the NDP Opposition charged this week. Bill 609, The Wildfire Strategy Act, presented Tuesday as a private members bill in the legislature, would require the public safety ministry to create and regularly update a provincial wildfire management strategy, maintain ongoing consultation with experts and the Indigenous community on an ongoing basis and provide public reporting.“Just a few weeks before fire season, (Premier Scott) Moe’s minister Tim McLeod looked me in the eye and promised the government was fully prepared,” said Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail, the NDP’s critic for northern affairs. “It turns out that the word of the Sask. Party minister simply isn’t enough anymore. We need a law on the books that mandates real preparation by the government.”McPhail has led the NDP’s push for answers about the wildfire that ravaged the northern village of Denare Beach in June. Residents of the community visited the legislature on Tuesday to share their stories, describing multiple attempts to prevent the damage of the wildfire.Trevor Sewap of Peter Ballytyne Cree Nation said he was a firefighter for decades before he joined the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) earlier this year as a fire-based supervisor out of Pelican Narrows. He urged the province numerous times this summer to take mitigating measures and was ignored or met with “‘We got this, we got it under control, we have it,’” Sewap said.“They don’t have [anything]. They watched that fire come for two days, they watched it, just looking at it.”Sewap said after watching the massive Wolf fire rip through Denare Beach, he became so frustrated he decided to quit.Trevor Sewap of Peter Ballytyne Cree Nation said he quit his job as a fire-based supervisor for the SPSA in frustration over being ignored. (Kirk Fraser/ CBC)More than 200 homes, including his, were lost to the fire.“I’m just so heartbroken and sad for what the government did,” Sewap said. “They let us down.”He said the government should have listened to people with knowledge of the land and experience fighting fires. ‘Nobody listened’Kari Lentowicz lost her home to the wildfire that hit Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation this year. She said she has nearly two decades of experience in disaster and emergency management, and shared Sewap’s frustration: urging the SPSA to act sooner, and being ignored. She remembers watching the flames of the Wolf fire grow as it moved closer to the First Nation, and going to her local fire base to warn them, she said. “Nobody seemed concerned.”Kari Lentowicz said she has nearly two decades of experience in disaster and emergency management. She lost her home to a wildfire at Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation this summer. (Kirk Fraser/ CBC)She even offered to work with crews when a state of emergency was declared on May 28, but the SPSA never followed up, she said.“Do a wet line, do a back burn, we had time,” Lentowicz said.WATCH | Sask. residents displaced by wildfires race to rebuild before winter:Saskatchewan residents displaced by wildfires race to rebuild before winterWildfires this summer displaced many from the remote lakeside village of Denare Beach, Sask., and more than 200 residences were destroyed. Many are glad to be back and rebuilding after debris clearing, but they also worry they’ll lose it all again.She held back tears as she noted the cost to rebuild what has now been lost. That cost would have been much lower if they acted earlier, she said.“Listen to us. Take that knowledge, grow with it and don’t ignore it.”Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod said the province already has wildfire management strategies in place and they’re based on best practices. SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said the province does work closely with experts and locals, noting the response to this year’s wildfire season is under review by a third party.”We will see what those recommendations are and how quickly we can implement some of those recommendations,” Pritchard said.Earlier Tuesday, representatives from nearly 50 volunteer fire departments were awarded the Premier’s Commendation medal for brave and courageous service while fighting wildfires over the summer. The province said it revived the award this year; it was last given in 2018. ABOUT THE AUTHORAliyah Marko-Omene is a reporter for CBC Saskatchewan. She has previously worked for CBC and Toronto Star in Toronto. You can reach her at aliyah.marko@cbc.ca.
NDP introduces wildfire strategy bill as Sask. residents say province fell short
