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Last year, the Saskatchewan government asked people affected by the 2025 wildfires to complete a public survey, but those who participated are still waiting for the review to be released.
“We need to know what went wrong last year and how it went wrong,” Dustin Trumbley, a longtime resident of the small northern community of Denare Beach, said.
“I think most people know what went wrong, but this isn’t about pointing fingers and blaming people. It’s so it doesn’t happen again.”
The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency tapped consulting firm MNP to conduct the review in December.
It said the responses would be anonymous and used to help strengthen future wildfire preparedness and response. The final report, which the government had said would be completed ahead of the 2026 wildfire season, has yet to be released.
In a statement, the government says the review timeline has been extended for broader community input and analysis.
“After discussions with MNP, the SPSA extended the review time frame to March 31, 2026, to support the consultation process,” the statement read, confirming the public safety agency agreed to receive the report in late spring.
Denare Beach resident Dustin Trumbley is calling on the Sask. Party government to give the community answers. (CBC )
“The request was also granted to allow MNP more time to review the thousands of SPSA documents requested by MNP and hundreds of interviews conducted.”
More than 200 homes were destroyed in Denare Beach by wildfire in June, and Trumbley says he feels the Sask. Party government has left residents without answers.
“There’s no transparency, ” said Trumbley, who met with Premier Scott Moe when he visited the northern community last year.
“He told us we were going to be included. All the Denare Beach residents, East Trout Lake, all the people that got hurt and wiped out, they were going to be involved — and nothing.”
Trumbley says residents who are rebuilding in the community are preparing for the upcoming wildfire season, but it’s been difficult without the report.
“We need answers, and we need them now,” he said. “We need a plan in place, and a good plan in place. We deserve it. I mean, we’re all taxpayers. I think it’s just the minimum that they could do.”
‘The opposite of transparency’
The province’s official Opposition has also criticized the government for not releasing the review.
“We called for this to be a public inquiry so that the public could be more engaged and to have a fully transparent process,” Vicki Mowat, deputy leader of the Saskatchewan NDP, said.
“It feels like what the government is doing right now is the opposite of transparency.”
At a news conference Friday, the NDP questioned the Sask. Party’s preparedness for the upcoming wildfire season.
“It raises a lot of questions,” Mowat said. “Around timing, whether the report is actually ready or whether they’re waiting until after the end of the spring sitting so that there’s less scrutiny over the report when it comes out.”
In its statement to CBC, the government says the review delay has not stopped the public safety agency from making improvements.
“The agency has performed its own internal reviews and made many improvements, including to its evacuation policies and procedures,” the government said.
It also said the agency is enhancing planning with First Nations and is continuing to work with Denare Beach residents through the Recovery Task Team program as the next wildfire season nears.