Crowns offering relief from wildfires

The provincial government’s Crown corporations are offering some relief to those evacuated or impacted by the recent wildfires.

According to a government news release Monday, utility Crown corporations — SaskTel, SaskPower and SaskEnergy — as well as SGI will offer temporary relief to those under mandatory evacuation from having to pay utility bills, insurance premiums and driver’s licence fees currently due.

SaskTel, SaskPower and SaskEnergy are, until Sept. 1, waiving late payments and will not proceed with collection, or disconnection for nonpayment of services due to mandatory evacuation orders. Also, residents and small or medium businesses will receive future credit amounting to one month fixed service delivery fees.

Also, any vehicle plate insurance or driver’s licences due will not expire due to non-payment of fees or premiums or because customers are unable to renew. Other insurance policies through SGI CANADA have a grace period written in for evacuation situations, covering the duration of the evacuation and up to 30 days after the evacuation order ends.

Customers are still responsible for payment of services supplied while they are not home, such as the electricity being consumed by freezers and other appliances. Also, SaskEnergy, for safety reasons, has turned off service of natural gas in several affected communities, so customers in those communities will not have consumption charges during this period.

As well, businesses directly impacted by the fire activity in the north can apply for relief from penalty and interest charges for filing late PST returns. Those impacted businesses must submit a written request for waiver of penalties and interest to the Finance Ministry. Those must include the business location as well as the circumstances of how the fire-related conditions prevented the  PST return(s) from being filed on time. Requests should be marked as fire related and sent to Ministry of Finance, Revenue Division, Box 200, Regina, S4P 2Z6. Their email address is [email protected] and they can be reached by phone at 1-800-667-6102 (toll free) or 306-787-6645 (Regina). Their fax number is 306-798-3045.