I dont have a place to sleep tonight: Sask ombudsman shares complaints over provinces wildfire response

The Saskatchewan Ombudsman is planning a review into what it calls the Saskatchewan government’s lack of response to wildfire evacuees from the province’s north. “Our office will be conducting a systemic investigation in terms of the response to the forest fires and the evacuations and the services provided,” Sharon Pratchler said at a news conference in Regina Tuesday. “The scope of that investigation is not yet determined, but that is not what the focus needs to be. I need to take that off people’s worries of what will happen later. Let’s worry about the immediate.” Pratchler was blunt in her assessment that the government’s response has not been adequate in meeting people’s basic needs, saying people are confused, frustrated and overwhelmed with how to access services. “The immediate needs are basic. They are to find everyone who has been displaced from their home a place to sleep and access to food,” Pratchler said. “These are basic human needs and the province is responsible for providing for them without any further delay.” Pratchler said the response cannot be “we’re working on it.” She said that the time for that is past and an immediate response is needed. She shared complaints she’s received of people sleeping in their car, who are hungry and who are getting sick. “The government’s processes must also respect the dignity of each individual affected by the wildfire” she said. “The responses must be trauma informed and responsive as everyone who has been displaced has experienced trauma. “We don’t want that exacerbated further because we do not want further traumatization to occur.” Pratchler said there’s a message she’s been hearing loud and clear from the people of the north who are reaching out to her. “Government, your processes to provide services to those people who have been displaced from their homes in northern Saskatchewan are not working for many of them,” Pratchler said. “Given your response to an inquiry from a displaced person that a response is usually provided in 24 hours when the person is driving in his truck around Saskatchewan and doesn’t know where he’s going to sleep at night is not a solution or response,” she said. “A response that they will get back to you in four days is not a trauma informed response.” Pratchler said some evacuees have been turned away from services because they are from another province. She noted that there should be no provincial boundaries during a crisis like evacuations from a wildfire. Some evacuees from Saskatchewan who have landed in Manitoba are being told they have to return to Saskatchewan to access resources, according to Pratchler. “One person who was accessing resources in Manitoba-for a couple days, he had a place to sleep and he had food (and) was told once they learned he was from Saskatchewan that he had to return to Saskatchewan to continue to get a bed and continue to get fed,” Pratchler said. “People who are vulnerable because they’ve experienced the trauma of the displacement from their homes should not be expected to travel long distances.” Pratchler called on the government to do a number of things to rectify the situation, going through a list of 15 recommendations including immediately setting up a dedicated phone line for evacuees that’s manned 24 hours a day and ensure it’s properly staffed to avoid exhaustion. Pratchler also recommended having one central record of evacuees and all the evacuation sites with information on which communities have been sent where so loved ones and family members know where to find each other. “You the government has that list, if they could so kindly share it to community workers so they can re-unify families,” Pratchler said. “I’m hearing directly from people that they don’t know where their families are. They don’t know where their families have been evacuated to, and no one can tell them.” Another ask of the government from the Ombudsman is a space for the doctors from La Ronge to see their patients. Pratchler asked for this on Monday she said, but has received no communication or confirmation. Pratchler declined to characterize the province’s response. “As I indicated, I will be doing a systemic review, so I can’t prejudge, and so what I would say what I’m focused on is the concerns that I am hearing and asking that they be addressed.” On Monday, the Saskatchewan NDP held a news conference and also shared concerns of evacuees, including difficulty using food vouchers, and waiting days for financial aid. Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail said Alberta and Manitoba are using e-transfers to put money directly in evacuees pockets. On Saturday, the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA), increased financial assistance for those registered with the SPSA, raising the amount provided to the head of household to $40 per day, up from $20, and the additional members of a household would increase to $20 per day, up from $10. It brought the daily maximum to $200 per day. Pratchler maintained that she wants solutions from the government, and is not berating it. “The solutions involve immediate, immediate responses and resources and at least some information for long term solutions, even if they’re not immediately known at this time,” Pratchler said. “People want to know what is going to happen to them-are they going to have a place to live in the future? Are they going to have a community? Are they going to have a job? Our goal is improvement in our response, not admonishment.” APTN News has reached out to Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe for his response and will update this story once it’s received. Continue Reading