SASKATOON, REGINA – There appears to be little enthusiasm from Saskatchewan political leaders about replicating the type of wildfire bans seen in Nova Scotia or New Brunswick.
Both provinces issued bans in the past week on people walking in the forest. Nova Scotia in particular had been issuing $25,000 fines on individuals caught doing just that. The bans have also cracked down on camping and fishing, prompting chatter on social media and complaints that the restrictions went too far.
Saskatchewan is also in the middle of a devastating wildfire season that has seen bone-dry conditions in the northern forests. A fire ban remains in effect for the province, and there have been restrictions imposed on ATV use, but so far Saskatchewan has stopped short of restricting people from fishing or walking in the woods.
At a news conference in Saskatoon Tuesday, Premier Scott Moe made clear he would not impose a ban on walking in the forest and did not believe such a ban was even workable.
“No, no, I don't know how you do that here with respect to people walking in the bush that we have,” Moe told reporters.
“I was in La Loche yesterday and people live in the bush. And they're going to walk in the bush.”
Moe acknowledged that the province had come down with “some temporary measures with respect to (ATV) quads and campfires,” and those happened at a “time when we were extremely dry. And out of the first couple hundred fires that we had in this province, they were largely being lit by human activity, non-intentional human activity. ...
“And so we had made some measures earlier with respect to campfires and quads, but as far as hiking or some of the other measures that are being taken, we have no intention and have had no discussion with respect to that. And it does look at least in the northwestern part of the province that there's some rain going to be falling in the near future, and we hope that's the case.”
When asked about the issue at a media availability in Regina Tuesday, Opposition Leader Carla Beck voiced her preference for public education on “how we can all do our part to reduce fire risk. No one wants to be the cause of the devastation that we've seen across the North.”
But Beck indicated she had not thought about a wide-ranging Nova Scotia-style ban on walking in the woods.
“It's honestly not something that I've considered before,” Beck said.
“I certainly have agreed with when areas are dry to reduce or restrict use of ATVs or campfires so that we're not putting more communities at risk, not starting more fires. I think that there's going to be a lot to look at after this fire season when people have a moment to see what is going to be most effective so that we don't see another season like we've seen in Saskatchewan this year. I think that there's a lot of work to do on that front.”
With files from Jon Perez
