SASKATOON — Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail believes that there is nothing new about what the government announced as the 11 immediate action items to improve their wildfire response after gaps were seen in the independent report released on Friday, June 12.
McPhail, the Shadow Minister for Northern Affairs, said the government's recommendations are nothing new, with some even included in the wildfire strategy bill, a measure the majority did not support. The NDP introduced Bill 609, or the Saskatchewan Wildfire Strategy Act, in December 2025.
“When I saw the government's response to this report, looking at some of the recommendations, I swear I've heard some of these recommendations before. I'm not exactly sure where. But I swear I've seen these,” said McPhail in a media event on Monday, June 15, at River Landing.
“I hope that when they [provincial government] look at the action plans, I think of some of the ones where they talk about coordinating with Crown utilities, creating a recovery plan, anyone who goes through press releases looks on and sees ‘this is what we did last year.’”
He added that the action plan, based on the findings of the MNP’s independent report, offers little that northern communities haven't heard before. MNP’s review identified significant gaps in preparation and coordination during last year's fires that damaged communities and displaced hundreds of people.
McPhail specifically pointed to proposals involving coordination with Crown utilities, recovery planning, and changes to emergency management structures within the SPSA (Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency), which northern community leaders had been calling for after the 2015 wildfires.
McPhail was referring to the 2015 northern wildfires that forced 13,000 residents to evacuate, including him and his family, as over 100 fires ravaged communities and destroyed structures, including his town of La Ronge, where he had served as City Councillor before being elected to the Legislature.
“I’ve seen this before. Again, in 2015, I heard northern leaders call for some of the changes that we've seen. Yeah, when I asked folks on the front lines during the wildfire crisis of last year, I didn't need the report to validate all the things that I've seen and heard and felt as a northerner last year,” he added.
“We've heard from the frontlines. We asked them ‘If they could go back to 2015 or 2025 and have the resources of either fire, which one would they choose?’ They said, ‘2015. 2025 was way worse. This is despite the government having an after-action report detailing the challenges it faced."
McPhail also noted that at the beginning of this year's wildfire season, not all firefighting aircraft were ready for deployment, despite government assurances that lessons had been learned. However, he remains hopeful that the government will act on it for the sake of his northern constituents.
He renewed the Opposition’s call for accountability from senior government officials, including an apology from Premier Scott Moe and the ministers responsible for emergency management. McPhail said ministers should publicly admit what he described as failures identified in MNP’s report.
"Any minister who has been in charge of a ministry that has failed people the way the report stated doesn't belong in the cabinet. This is not about politics. It's about justice for people who lost everything,” added McPhail.
Government response
Minister Responsible for SPSA Michael Weger, who replaced Tim McLeod when Moe shuffled his cabinet in November last year, in a statement sent to SaskToday, again reiterated that the government is firm in strengthening the province’s wildfire strategy, based on MNP’s independent review.
“The SPSA must do better. That is why our government’s response to the review’s recommendations includes 11 actions the SPSA has been directed to implement immediately. The Future Preparedness and Implementation Unit has been established within the SPSA to advance and monitor the implementation of the 11 actions directed by the Government of Saskatchewan,” said Weger.
“As a result of the feedback from community leaders across Northern Saskatchewan, the province is establishing the FireSmart Grant Program. The community of Wadin Bay will be the first to receive a $40,000 grant, retroactively, for costs associated with its FireSmart mitigation practices.”
He added that the provincial government will partner with local northern communities to train and deploy a new tier of firefighters looking to help protect their communities in emergency situations. These community wildfire reservists will help to advance planning and protection for their local communities.
