Dear Editor
For years, government has made cuts to wildfire prevention, and the consequences were demonstrated during last summer’s wildfire season.
Given the warnings of increased droughts and wildfires that climate scientists have been issuing for years, government’s proposed changes to wildfire mitigation don’t go far enough. They don’t balance out years of budget cuts.
Shouldn’t there have been a steady annual increase to this budget, not a 45 per cent cut over the last six years? And why, in the face of these warnings from scientists, did government decide to scale down its initial attack firefighting teams from five to four members, at a loss of 38 experienced frontline firefighters? Why does government continue to insist that initial attack crews can operate with four people, when fire control is much more efficient and effective with five?
Why were 40 reliable tower observers replaced with cameras? Who decided cameras – an unproven technology that failed repeatedly during the fires – would replace skilled human observers? Will their positions be restored under this proposed plan?
SGEU met with government prior to the 2015 wildfire season, and provided evidence of how cameras failed in other jurisdictions. This information was ignored.
Also unknown is whether the hiring of eight crews will be initial attack firefighters, or contract firefighters (who by policy cannot be on the initial fire line). And given that Saskatchewan was down 38 firefighters at the start of the 2015 wildfire season, why does government now plan to hire only 32?
Let’s remember that cuts have been made to our health care and education system, in part because of this disaster. The 2015 wildfire season will be remembered as the time the government saved a few thousand dollars and ended up having to spend over $100 million.
Bob Bymoen
President of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union
Regina
