LATEST UPDATE: Wildfire posing a direct threat to Pinehouse, Sask.
REGINA – The Opposition New Democrats are calling on the Saskatchewan government to hire more people to fight wildfires. NDP environment critic Cathy Sproule says the province set aside $56 million for wildfire management this year compared with $102 million in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
She says the help being offered by the military and other provinces is incredible, but the government should ensure it has enough trained firefighters of its own.
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The province has acknowledged it doesn’t have enough staff and has started a hiring blitz in the hope of having up to 400 new firefighters on the line within 10 days to two weeks.
Officials say the new hires will attend a shorter training course than usual.
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Sproule says First Nations leaders in northern Saskatchewan have repeatedly pressed the government to hire more crews.
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