The Saskatchewan NDP's Aleana Young is the Shadow Minister for Jobs & Economy. (Lisa Schick/980 CJME)

By Nick Nielsen

lack of tourism could ruin businesses

NDP, Northern Sask. businesses concerned about province’s support

Jun 11, 2025 | 3:23 PM

Thousands of people are still displaced from the wildfires ravaging the province’s north, and although a lot of homes and businesses have been saved thanks to the valiant work of firefighters in the province, fire isn’t the only thing that could damage a lot of these businesses in the long run.

Northern Saskatchewan is home to a lot of tourist destinations, but with the doors closed to evacuate from wildfires, some of those businesses won’t be able to recover from being closed this long.

As a result, the Saskatchewan NDP and business owners in the north are putting pressure on the Sask. Party Government to create better supports for businesses affected by the wildfires.

Matthew Maurer is the President of the La Ronge and District Chamber of Commerce, and he’s heard from several businesses saying that insurance claims won’t cover the costs of businesses forced to evacuate. After seeing a number of businesses go into debt just to stay afloat after evacuations in 2015, he feels there’s been plenty of time to get a better plan in place.

“This is also the major part of our tourism season so many of those outfitters have lost all their business because people can’t get to them on the roads. Being shut down for even one week is a huge loss for our local economy,” he said.

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Another La Ronge business owner is Karli Carr, owner and operator of Boreal Colours Salon. She’s watched funds earmarked for her business’ expansion dwindle away since the evacuation.

“That was money I had put away to expand my business. I hear from others who are far worse off than me. The government should be stepping up to help us get back on our feet, help us get our community back.”

The NDP’s Aleana Young is the Saskatchewan Shadow Minister for Jobs and Economy spoke with these business owners at a press conference in Saskatoon where she outlined the NDP’s proposed plan to the Sask. Party Government.

• Creating a grant program to help businesses stay afloat during the wildfire crisis – especially for seasonal businesses like tourism and outfitting that do the vast majority of their business during the summer months.
• Allow businesses impacted by wildfires to delay or defer taxes and fees owed to the provincial government.
• Expedite any SGI coverage and claims for small businesses and tourism vendors impacted by the wildfires.
• Commit to charging zero interest on any government tax arrears for impacted businesses.

“Small businesses are the very backbone of our economy, and we’ve heard from so many owners who are already stretched thin for resources after the Sask. Party’s PST hike, and are now out thousands and thousands of dollars in inventory, lost revenue and more. Supports are being provided to small businesses in neighboring Alberta, which has also seen thousands evacuated due to wildfires. We need the same here,” she said.

Earlier Wednesday, the Saskatchewan Government announced another $500 for evacuees, and Premier Scott Moe noted its distribution will vary by each community. He added more supports are coming, but the province has a few bottlenecks to solve before they can do more.

“The effort does not end with this today. We need to work with individuals and communities on additional housing supports as we’ve lost many homes over the last two weeks.” Moe continued, “Where we have realized there are bottlenecks in the systems that we have to support those families and to support Saskatchewan evacuees, we’ve pushed ourselves, pushed the SPSA, and pushed the Government of Saskatchewan proper to address those concerns in as timely a manner, often hours and not days, to provide the supports that are necessary.”

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Nick.Nielsen@pattisonmedia.com