REGINA - Tempers are beginning to boil over between the Sask Party and NDP over the wildfire response.
The two parties have engaged in a war of words in news releases and press conferences, with the Sask Party government clearly starting to lose patience with the Opposition's continued barrage of attacks over the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's wildfire efforts in the North.
On Wednesday, Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Tim McLeod issued a statement in which he responded to comments of NDP MLA for Athabasca, Leroy Laliberte. In a statement, Laliberte had taken issue with the statements of SPSA officials the previous Thursday about the fire threat to Beauval.
“On Thursday, officials said it would be four days before the fire reached Beauval. Instead, it was there in four hours," his statement read.
Laliberte also blasted the Sask Party for not holding a public news conference for a number of days, with the SPSA instead providing their most recent updates via news releases.
“Premier Scott Moe hasn’t even publicly spoken about this crisis or posted online about it. He’s given no indication he cares. People feel abandoned. There hasn’t been a public safety update in days and the information provided last week was completely wrong."
McLeod's response in full:
"Earlier today the MLA for Athabasca implied that officials at SPSA lied about information they had. I want to assure everyone that the SPSA is using the most up to date information and weather conditions they have at the time of briefing to provide an update.
"The Opposition has every right to hold the government accountable, and I welcome scrutiny of my actions as Minister, that is part of the job. But I would hope that the MLA for Athabasca would issue an apology for the hardworking frontline staff.
"SPSA officials have consistently been made available to provide briefings and answer questions. In fact, as the fires intensified, we initiated multiple information briefings for Opposition MLAs, with particular attention to Northern members whose communities are directly affected.
"I have personally spoken several times with the MLA for Athabasca to ensure he has current, accurate information. We spoke just minutes before a public statement was released by the NDP last Thursday criticizing the response in Beauval. I’m committed to working with all MLAs, regardless of political party, to ensure they are able to inform and support constituents.
"I wish to express my profound gratitude to the SPSA front-line staff, municipal fire departments, volunteer fire departments, and countless emergency personnel who are working around the clock—often in extremely dangerous conditions—to protect lives, homes, and communities. Their bravery and dedication deserve our respect and support."
At a media availability Thursday morning in Saskatoon, Premier Moe spoke of the wildfire response and in particular of the devastation in Denare Beach. His comments seemed a response to claims that the government had been abandoning those impacted.
"Between Marlo (Pritchard), the President of the SPSA and our Minister of Public Safety Tim McLeod, I would just reassure each of those individuals that their voice and the concerns of the individuals of Denare Beach, the families that have lost their homes ... are very much well heard by the government of Saskatchewan."
Moe pointed to initiatives over the last number of weeks including $15 million to the Canadian Red Cross, $500 cheques to evacuees and a $20 million investment in the rebuilding process, among others.
Back and forth between government, Opposition has gone on some time
This is not the first time McLeod has taken on the NDP over their accusations regarding the wildfires. In June, the opposition NDP criticized the Sask Party government for not having their new water bomber in action during the wildfires.
At a news conference, SPSA officials said the pilots had not yet been able to complete the required training to use the water bomber, training that was required by Transport Canada rules. McLeod accused the NDP of politicizing the situation.
"It is unfortunate that even during a state of emergency, they're still wanting to politicize tragedy," said McLeod. "This is not a situation where we had resources that were available that were left on the table or, in this case, left on the tarmac."
The war of words continued on June 18, when the NDP blasted the Sask Party government over a number of other aircraft had also been out of action during the wildfire situation. Opposition Leader Carla Beck and Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail held a news conference in which they pointed to two Convair 580As and two CL-215Ts that were also grounded.
Soon after the government issued a release stating SPSA frontline staff had reported that on June 16 a group of individuals "were found attempting to trespass at SPSA air operations base in La Ronge, disrupting the work of staff and increasing the risk of endangering themselves and others."
The NDP responded with a release in which they claimed the accusation involved individuals who were shooting a video at the airport that day.
"The Sask. Party government’s statement is desperate, ridiculous, and a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that nearly half of their air tankers were secretly grounded during the worst wildfires in a decade," read their news release. "Standing in a paid public parking lot to shoot a video is not trespassing."
Later that day at a news conference, SPSA President Marlo Pritchard said that in fact the trespassing incident had nothing to do with the video crew, but involved other individuals trying to get into the restricted area.
That drew a further release from the NDP in which they accused the Sask. Party of having spent the morning calling newsrooms and "falsely accusing our MLA for Cumberland of trespassing to distract from their unprecedented failure on many fronts to respond to the wildfire crisis in the North."
"The SPSA says those claims are blatantly false. Sask. Party Caucus members should be ashamed of themselves. We will continue to advocate for the people of the North and we will continue every day to demand answers on why desperately needed water bombers remained grounded during the worst wildfires seen in this province in a decade — something Premier Scott Moe has yet to answer for."
- With files from Jon Perez
