
From ashes to action: NDP and SPSA address plans to rebuild fire-stricken communities
As the province deals with another uptick in wildfires, the opposition is calling on the government to adopt a coordinated plan to rebuild communities that have already been destroyed.
In Prince Albert Wednesday, NDP leader Carla Beck and NDP MLA for Cumberland, Jordan McPhail, presented what they called five critical pieces to ensure that happens:
- Urgently restoring access to healthcare and essential services.
- Medium-term housing for people who lost their homes until they can rebuild.
- Housing for construction workers tasked with rebuilding isolated communities completely destroyed, like Denare Beach and East Trout Lake.
- Proper and fair procedures for demolition and safe disposal of the waste associated with properties destroyed by fire.
- Immediate assistance from Crowns to help with fees and costs of rebuilding utility services like power, phone, and internet lines.
“This plan is the bare minimum that needs to happen and frankly should have been in place already, as Jordan said. Undoubtedly, as the rebuilding happens, there will be more needs that will emerge the more issues that will arise,” Beck said.