An event took place at the legislative buildings Monday, Nov. 2 to recognize those who took part in fighting the wildfires in Northern Saskatchewan this summer.
At town council in Battleford Monday it was acknowledged that representatives from their community were at that ceremony. Among those there was councillor Ames Leslie and others from the town.
The town contributed equipment and sent five firefighters to La Ronge from their department, as part of a joint effort with North Battleford to fight the wildfires. But other local representatives were there as well representing various organizations, including those who assisted evacuees who stayed in North Battleford during the crisis.
Among those acknowledged by Premier Brad Wall in the legislature Monday were the Town of Battleford and City of North Battleford, Battlefords Agency Tribal Chiefs, the Lighthouse Serving the Battlefords, Battle River Treaty 6 Health Centre and Prairie North Regional Health Authority.
Others recognized included the Saskatchewan Volunteer Fire Fighters Association, Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and RCMP F Division. Cameco, which sponsored and organized a travelling children’s carnival complete with Disney princesses for the evacuees, was also among those recognized.
In all, 182 guests were in attendance in the legislature that day. Premier Wall made remarks as recorded in Hansard.
Hon. Mr. Wall: … Mr. Speaker, what we saw in Saskatchewan this past summer was unlike anything we had ever seen before in terms of the scale of the fires that were in proximity to communities. And the evacuation that was required in addition to the suppression, in addition to all of the logistics work that went into the firefight, the evacuation itself that was involved was unprecedented. We’ve seen nothing like that in the province’s history. I hope we’ll never see anything like it again.
But, Mr. Speaker, what was greater than the scale and scope of these fires and the impact on these communities and on the whole province, what was greater than all of that was the response of these amazing women and men, all of these organizations — local leadership, First Nation chiefs, town mayors and councils, the public service, non-government agencies, the private sector, well you heard the list I read. This is an amazing list of organizations represented by amazing people who just stepped up, really didn’t need to be asked.
The phone lines were busy with volunteers. I remember, Mr. Speaker, being involved in the morning ops [operations] call on a regular basis and just being amazed by the work of our public service, first of all, and also being amazed of reports of the response from everyday Saskatchewan citizens in the North, people wanting to help from the South.
The writer Henrik Ibsen wrote that “A community is like a ship; everyone ought to be prepared to take the helm.” Well we saw that this summer. Everyone did their part and more. Everyone contributed. Everyone took the helm. And, Mr. Speaker, though we were going through a terrible tragedy and some people had been out of their homes for a month, despite all of that, through all of that, it was a proud moment for everybody in this province because of you, because of our guests, because of their response to people when they needed their help the most.
So, Mr. Speaker, we have a special event here today to say thank you. It really doesn’t seem like enough, given the effort and the contribution, but we offer it freely and sincerely, both this recognition today in their Legislative Assembly, and an event a little bit later on this afternoon, Mr. Speaker, on behalf of a very, very grateful province. Thank you so much for proving again the motto of Saskatchewan, “from many peoples, strength,” and welcome to your Legislative Assembly.
Opposition leader Cam Broten also made some remarks thanking those who stepped up to help.
Mr. Broten: Well thank you, Mr. Speaker. And if we ever needed a reminder about the fact that we live in a fantastic province filled with wonderful, kind, generous people, we have a reminder here clear as day, Mr. Speaker, in the many faces that we have filling the galleries here in the Assembly. We see people from all different walks of life, from all different regions of the province. We see fire chiefs, First Nation chiefs, leaderships of CBOs [community-based organizations] and volunteer organizations. We see dedicated civil servants who have committed their lives to public service here in Saskatchewan. And on behalf of the official opposition, we too want to extend our deep gratitude and thanks for everything that you have done and that you did over the past months here in the province.
And I think it’s important, Mr. Speaker, and I’m sure these individuals, these leaders of their organizations would also recognize that they are the one representative of a big network of people helping out. That was most certainly the reality, and we want to say a special thank you to each and every member of your staff, of your volunteer groups, of your band members for going above the call of duty to help people here in Saskatchewan.
And, Mr. Speaker, I would also like to extend a special thank you to the representatives’ families because we know during that period of time a lot of people missed a lot of time at home, missed meals together, missed sleeps in one’s own bed, and put themselves in harm’s way very often.
So Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the official opposition, we thank all members for their representation here today and thank you for their service to Saskatchewan. Thank you.
After the pleasantries were out of the way, it was back to battle mode in the legislature. The issue of carbon capture at Boundary Dam, Estevan raged on as a hot topic in Question Period for a second week in a row.
At issue was the facility falling short of its million-tonne target, with a capture rate of 400,000 tonnes of CO2 instead.
Opposition leader Cam Broten hammered the government for claiming the plant was operating at full capacity, when it wasn’t.
Mr. Broten: … The Premier said the $1.5 billion carbon capture project was fully operational “when it opened,” but the internal documents show the unit did not capture CO2 for quite some time after the grand opening. So why did the Premier say that it was fully operational and working as designed when it opened up, when that wasn’t even close to reality?
The Speaker:I recognize the Premier.
Hon. Mr. Wall: — Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I thank the member for his question. I’ve had discussions with the president of SaskPower in the last number of days, and prior to even the questions being raised, about this particular project, Mr. Speaker, about what operational means in the utility sector, Mr. Speaker. And I also think he shared this comment with members of the media and others, that from the draft board in terms of the plant’s technology to the commissioning of the plant and turning on of the plant, SaskPower believed that wording was accurate — still believes that by the way — that it’s operational and it’s fully operational, and so the tweet went out.
Mr. Speaker, there was a lot of numbers tossed around last week, and I just want to be clear. Mr. Speaker, this particular technology, this amine technology, will capture 90 per cent of the CO2 in terms of the exhaust that goes through it. Mr. Speaker, that’s what this plant will hit. That is the target that this plant will hit. Through the last year, the first year of commissioning, it ran at about 89, sometimes 90 per cent of capacity, capturing about 80 per cent of the CO2. Mr. Speaker, it’s going to get to 90 per cent on a consistent basis…
Broten again kept on pressing the government on the issue and in his response Wall ended up turning the tables on the opposition.
Hon. Mr. Wall: — … And I guess I ask the member again: what is the position of the opposition? Are they in favour of coal continuing? Or like his counterpart, the Leader of the NDP in Alberta, is it his position we should shut down coal in the province of Saskatchewan?
The Speaker: — I recognize the Leader of the Opposition.
Mr. Broten: — Mr. Speaker, it’s not capturing one thing today of CO2, Mr. Speaker, because it’s been closed since September, Mr. Speaker. What we need is the Premier to stop evading the questions and start giving Saskatchewan people some information.
