SASKATOON — The Saskatchewan NDP continued its pressure to hold the provincial government accountable for failures in its wildfire response last year, and again called on Premier Scott Moe to remove Tim McLeod from his cabinet position, even though he is no longer the Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency.
McLeod now heads the Justice Ministry and the province’s Attorney General, while also being the Minister Responsible for the Firearms Secretariat. Weyburn-Bengough MLA Michael Weger replaced McLeod for the SPSA and Community Safety Ministry portfolios.
Cumberland MLA Jordan McPhail, in a media event on Tuesday, June 30, at one of the Opposition’s offices in the city, said McLeod, who was the Minister overseeing the province’s response to the devastating 2025 wildfire season, should face political consequences based on the findings of independent reviews done by MNP and the Provincial Auditor of Saskatchewan.
The Northern Affairs Shadow Minister added that the former Minister Responsible for SPSA should no longer serve in cabinet or on the SPSA’s oversight board, with Weger put on notice as a warning to improve the province’s wildfire response.
“What we've seen from the MNP report, and from the Auditor, is that Minister McLeod is not capable of providing oversight of this Ministry [SPSA]. Specifically, he should be removed from that board, any minister that fails the people of this province so miserably, like we saw Minister McLeod do last year with a 2025 wildfire response,” said McPhail.
He added that McLeod failed to fulfill his ministerial duties and should no longer hold a place in the provincial cabinet based on what they have seen from his actions, from under-resourcing SPSA to failing to call for additional help, whether because he was too proud to do so, something that he has asked Moe several times during the height of the disastrous wildfires last year.
“After seeing all of these things, a minister who makes those types of decisions, should they be allowed to sit in your cabinet? I mean, the bar isn't very high right now, and we see the state of the healthcare system, the state of our education system, and the number of people who are being abandoned by the social services administrator here. The bar isn't super high,” said McPhail, who also called on SPSA President and Fire Commissioner Marlo Pritchard to step down.
“A lot of my constituents have called for some of the senior leadership of the SPSA to either step down or be terminated from their positions. Ultimately, what we want is accountability for the abandonment of northern Saskatchewan. Last year, McLeod and the current Minister, Weger, would have known the conversations and the resources that might have been requested or denied, and who denied them. They know the ins and outs of what happened last year. It is their job to make sure they are accountable.”
McPhail added that those multiple independent reviews and new research also showed that the provincial government had still failed to demonstrate improvement in its wildfire preparedness, as seen in its firefighting fleet, where eight of SPSA’s 17 wildfire response aircraft are currently grounded, including five air tankers and three bird dog aircraft.
He said that the findings contradict previous government assurances about the fleet's operational readiness and leave Saskatchewan with significantly reduced aerial firefighting capacity as another wildfire season unfolds.
"Today, I'm here to reveal new analysis of the province's waterbomber fleet that proves that Scott Moe's Saskatchewan Party haven't learned a thing from their failures to prepare for wildfires. Of the 17 aircraft operated by the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency for emergency response, eight have been grounded — some since summer of 2025 and others as far back as August of 2024," McPhail said.
McPhail said the province continues to rely on aging aircraft that many jurisdictions have already retired, pointing to Convair 580 air tankers originally certified in the 1950s, noting that both the Auditor's report and the MNP review criticized the government's management of wildfire resources, including deficiencies in planning for aircraft replacement and documenting the condition and remaining service life of the fleet.
"The MNP report showed failure, the Auditor's report showed failure, our analysis of the aircraft fleet shows failure. These are planes being used as museum pieces in British Columbia. It is a failure after a failure after a failure of Scott Moe and his government. It's not just the NDP that has seen these failures. We see that being brought to light with the MNP and Auditor’s report," McPhail said
McPhail said his concerns are rooted in the experiences of northern residents who lost homes, livelihoods and forests during last year's fires. Driving through northern Saskatchewan before the announcement, he said, the devastation remains highly visible, reinforcing communities' calls for greater government accountability.
SPSA provides water bomber details
In response to McPhail's comments, SPSA President and Fire Commissioner Marlo Pritchard said two of its water bombers are currently out of service for repairs, and one is undergoing scheduled maintenance. Still, officials maintain the province continues to have sufficient aerial firefighting resources available through its own fleet and mutual aid agreements.
"We have two water bombers currently being repaired. One water bomber is completing scheduled maintenance service and is expected to be online shortly," said Pritchard in a technical briefing, adding that one is expected to return to service.
He said that SPSA is working directly with the aircraft manufacturer to expedite repairs and improve the delivery of replacement parts needed to return aircraft to service faster, as well as expedite the process of getting the needed spare parts.
He noted that maintenance is part of operating specialized firefighting aircraft, particularly given the demanding conditions in which they fly. Aircraft are periodically removed from service for scheduled inspections, maintenance and unexpected repairs to ensure their safety and effectiveness.
"Due to the critical conditions where these aircraft operate, there are times where these planes will be temporarily removed for service or repair, which could include regulated inspections, ongoing maintenance and other issues," Pritchard said.
