Saskatchewan ombudsman Sharon Pratchler says the provincial government’s response to wildfire evacuations needs to improve.
Speaking at a news conference Tuesday, Pratchler said she has been hearing calls from evacuees living in cars, tents and parking lots without access to basic needs like food or shelter, or clear information about where they should go and who is supposed to support them.
“Your process to provide services to those people who have been displaced from the homes in northern Saskatchewan are not working for many of them,” Pratchler said.
Pratchler said her office has received numerous calls from people confused about where to go due to a lack of organization.
“We believe that people would be better able to manage the situation when they understand that there is a plan in place, and what that plan is and how it affects them,” she said.
Pratchler issued 14 immediate calls to action to improve supports for evacuees. They include ensuring the 24/7 help hotline is properly staffed, creating one list of all evacuation sites, ensuring that there is a space for doctors who have been evacuated from La Ronge to see their patients, and providing information on a long-term plan for rehousing those who have lost their homes.
She said these calls to action are urgent.
“The delays in response and accesses to services to meet basic needs, a safe place to sleep and food has fuelled distrust,” Pratchler said.
Pratchler promised a formal investigation into the government’s handling of the crisis.
“There will be a review by my office later on, but the focus right now is on immediate needs,” she said.
As of noon CST Tuesday, there were 23 active wildfires in the province, with five considered contained, according to the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
Jordan McPhail, the Saskatchewan NDP’s MLA for Cumberland — which includes the northeastern region, where many fires are burning — says he has heard the same concerns the ombudsman expressed.
“What Pratchler has revealed this morning reinforces so much of what I’ve been hearing since the wildfire crisis began nearly two weeks ago,” the Opposition MLA said at a Tuesday news conference.
McPhail said he’s been told some evacuees are going thousands of dollars into debt trying to manage the crisis, and some are driving long distances to use grocery store vouchers provided to evacuees by the province.
“Pure chaos and callous failure, and the Sask. Party government doesn’t seem to care,” McPhail said.
Opposition House leader Nicole Sarauer is calling on the Saskatchewan Party government to take immediate action on help that includes providing proper long-term shelter, financial aid and a list of all available supports of all evacuation centres, along with better communication overall.
“I can’t even imagine why that doesn’t already exist,” Sarauer said.
Chantelle Morin has been living in a camper trailer in Prince Albert with her family since fleeing Denare Beach, in northeastern Saskatchewan, last month.
The wildfire that tore through the village and the nearby Denare Beach reserve left widespread destruction.
“To lose three-quarters of your community and for everybody to be displaced, we have no homes to go to when we are able to go home,” Morin said. “There’s lots of us that have no homes to go to.”
WATCH | Denare Beach evacuee living in camper, uncertain about future or support:
Denare Beach evacuee living in camper, uncertain about future or support
Morin says getting help as an evacuee has been challenging, with multiple agencies offering assistance, which makes it unclear where to go for help.
Morin is a member of Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation, which includes eight communities. Denare Beach is among those.
She said the Red Cross is responsible for providing evacuation support, but hasn’t been helpful to her so far.
“We haven’t got any assistance from them, like any laundry slips or things that help us get by the day.”
The province also offers daily financial support through the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency — $40 for the head of household and $20 for each additional family member, up to $200 per day.
But Morin says that isn’t enough for evacuees like her. She says she has received some help from her band, but her family is being forced to cover too much on their own.
“Right now, we’re using our savings to get the things that aren’t being donated to the evacuation centre,” she said. “Those other necessities we’re spending out of pocket.”
Though some evacuees from Pelican Narrows — about 80 kilometres northwest of Denare Beach — are now allowed to return home, that’s not the case for Morin’s family. There’s been no clear timeline on when that will happen.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow,” she said. “We’re just going day by day since last Saturday. We don’t know when we can go home. We don’t know when we can go through anything that’s left.”
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