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After many opportunities to throw criticism at him and his government from the Sask. NDP, Premier Scott Moe defended his whereabouts in the wake of the devastating wildfires this summer.
The Opposition has been speaking out about the Sask. Party Government, and giving a platform for people from affected communities to do the same, saying the premier hasn’t been paying enough attention to the communities, and pointing out he hadn’t visited those hardest hit in places like Denare Beach.
This week, Moe answered those criticisms, saying others in his cabinet have travelled to the village.
“Numerous ministers, and the minister of public safety, has been in Denare Beach on at least two occasions, as well as deputy ministers, Minister of Environment and others,” said Moe.
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He said those ministers brought a clear message, were in constant contact with the community leaders, and the people there can be confident in the voice Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod brought to the cabinet table on their behalf.
Moe pointed to the increase in the per diem for evacuees and the $20 million announced from the provincial government to help with preparations for rebuilding.
“A significant investment in those very families that have experienced loss, that came about by representation by the Minister of Public Safety within the Government of Saskatchewan,” said Moe.
The premier and McLeod did visit two communities affected by the fires, La Loche and Beauval, earlier this week.
Over the past few days, Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod and I have been in Beauval, La Loche, and Prince Albert where we have been meeting with RCMP members, local leaders, and emergency teams working tirelessly to protect our northern communities from the ongoing wildfires.… pic.twitter.com/sNT1TTvOLK
— Scott Moe (@PremierScottMoe) August 13, 2025
Moe said the loss of so many homes, like in Denare Beach, is not to be understated, but he also said the fires in these communities were more intense than anything the crews on the ground had seen.
“The response was not only Saskatchewan-wide, but we had resources in from many other provinces – virtually every other province – as well as Mexico, Australia, and many states across the United States of America,” said Moe, explaining its his role in government to fund that response.
The premier said now his government is working with these communities to help them recover and then improve infrastructure.
“Ambitious work with the federal government, as well as our local leaders, to come together with a program that is going to provide that opportunity to drastically up our efforts in fire-smarting our northern communities,” said Moe.
“In the way of fire breaks, in the way of permanent wet lines around those communities that can be utilized in the years where a fire is encroaching on them.”
Moe also took the opportunity to hit back at the NDP, saying it’s a good thing McLeod had been in such close contact with Denare Beach leadership, because the government had only had one piece of correspondence about it from the local MLA, the NDP’s Jordan McPhail.
The NDP responded, saying there had been more than one instance of communication from McPhail to the government, including McPhail and other NDP members joining public safety wildfire briefings to raise concerns, calling for action publicly dozens of times over the summer.
In a statement, McPhail raised concerns once again, saying he has constituents who still don’t have the funding that was promised to them when they were evacuated. He also offered to tour Denare Beach, East Trout Lake and Sucker River with the premier next week.
