REGINA – The opposition New Democrats were on the attack on the province’s wildfire response again Monday, this time accusing the government of "profiting" off of PST charged to victims of the disaster in Denare Beach and elsewhere in the North.
In speaking to reporters Monday, NDP critic for Northern Affairs Jordan McPhail called out “the callous(ness) and cold-heartedness of this government charging PST on people that have lost it all after being completely abandoned by (Public Safety Minister) Tim McLeod and the Sask Party government.”
“What we're seeing is unprecedented PST bills being sent to the people,” said McPhail, pointing to a number of letters he had received.
He held up one invoice for over $25,000 in PST that had been issued to Nathan Pitka, an East Trout Lake resident.
During Question Period that afternoon, McPhail mentioned Pitka's invoice and also pointed to Harley Vliegenthart, a volunteer firefighter who worked to defend Denare Beach, having received a PST bill of more than $28,000.
In the exchange in the Assembly McPhail asked McLeod what was the "exact dollar figure" he would charge the people of the North to begin to rebuild their lives.
McLeod replied by calling out “comments being made constantly requiring correction of the record, Mr. Speaker" (referring to comments by McPhail about water bombers being grounded), and pointed to “unprecedented supports” set out for the victims of the wildfires.
“We will not exploit those people as they experience that tragedy, Mr. Speaker.”
When confronted by McPhail over the PST bills sent to residents, McLeod again pointed to “unprecedented supports.”
“The supports that we put in place through the Recovery Task Team are there specifically for the individuals who did not have insurance coverage when we replaced properties that were damaged due to forest fires. Of course, the insurance that is in place for those individuals kicks in first, and then, as I said, unprecedented supports, Mr. Speaker, $20 million of support from this government supporting those families. We will continue to support those families, and the communities that suffered losses as a result of these tragic fires.”
After Question Period ended, McPhail further elaborated to reporters the situation that residents were facing.
He said people rebuilding in northern Saskatchewan are bringing in ready-to-move homes and “looking at $25,000, $30,000 bills in PST on the construction labour to build those homes and bring them in.”
Once those arrive, “they have to hook them up to plumbing, municipal water and sewer infrastructure, tie them into their electrical panels, all of those different things if they are RTMs. All of that triggers a PST on construction labour,” said McPhail.
McPhail also claimed to reporters that when he raised those questions during Question Period, Minister McLeod had laughed.
“The people who aren't laughing are the people paying these bills in northern Saskatchewan," said McPhail. He said Minister McLeod "should be absolutely ashamed of himself with his responses here today, and should step up and answer the call of the people that have sent me these bills and talk about giving them the help that they need in rebuilding by cutting the PST on their rebuild."
"People in the North should not have to pay PST. Government should not be profiting off of this government's lack of response in the wildfire season.”
In response the government issued a statement Monday afternoon, saying the broad application of PST “ensures that a fairly applied, reliable and sustainable source of revenue is available to fund the many public services provided by our government, including unprecedented resources to assist those impacted by the devastating 2025 wildfire season.”
The province noted their response includes $30 million for cleanup and debris removal, temporary housing units supporting displaced families to remain near their community, and project management support for local recovery efforts.
They also pointed to the development of the Recovery Task Team to support communities in planning, recovery, and rebuilding efforts, including the establishment of the Community Resiliency Centre in July for residents and business owners in the Denare Beach and Creighton area to help the recovery and rebuilding efforts.
The government also pointed to the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program providing displacement assistance to residents who lost homes and have exhausted their insurance or had no insurance available, as well immediate supports during the wildfires including $500 payments to evacuees 18 and older to assist in the repatriation process. The province also said they provided the Canadian Red Cross $15 million to work with the SPSA to support Saskatchewan wildfire evacuees
“The claims by the lost and reckless NDP that the government is ‘profiting’ from collection of PST is disingenuous considering the cost of these unprecedented wildfire supports,” their statement read.
