Watch above: Thousands of evacuees remain displaced from their homes as wildfires continue to burn in northern Saskatchewan. As Joel Senick reports, while people and structures continue to be the focus, there are questions about what impact the wildfire season will have on Saskatchewan’s economy.
SASKATOON – Saskatchewan’s active wildfire season will have a negative economic impact on the province, especially in the north, according to a University of Saskatchewan professor.
“Mining, forestry, you think about even power, you think about telecommunications,” said Greg Poelzer, who focuses his research on northern governance.
“We will get through this as a province, but it’s going to cost,” he added.
READ MORE: About 1,000 wildfire evacuees get the all-clear to head home
The question of how much likely won’t be answered for some time, according to Premier Brad Wall. He told reporters Wednesday that he does not yet know the full economic impact of wildfires on the northern Saskatchewan economies.
“Overall we have other parts of the economy that are I think outperforming even what people thought and that will help, but certainly there will be an impact from what has happened in the north,” said Wall.
Infrastructure damage will also negatively affect the northern economy, according to Poelzer. He pointed out that roads, a basic need for modern businesses, may be damaged, destroyed, or needing repair and are unable to be fixed with fires burning nearby.
“That’s going to further delay economic development in all sectors,” said Poelzer.
READ MORE: Northern economy feeling the effects of Saskatchewan wildfires
One company that has directly felt the consequences of the current northern wildfires is Saskatoon-based gold mining company Claude Resources. Its CEO says the company pulled 81 non-essential employees from its mining operation, as a precautionary measure. The site sits roughly 125 kilometres northeast of La Ronge.
“We don’t have fire immediately on the mine site, it’s at about three, four kilometres distance from the mine site,” said Brian Skanderbeg, who is both president and CEO of the company.
“Fires and wildfires are a major concern.”
READ MORE: Operations at Claude Resources Seabee mine suspended due to wildfire
Roughly 65 people remain on site, according to Skanderbeg, where mining operations have been halted, but milling procedures continue.
“Thankfully we have a significant stockpile at present, which would take us for about ten days to continue on the mill side,” said Skanderbeg.
“If this drags on past that, this would certainly have an impact on our operations from a financial perspective and even at this point it’s likely that it would,” he added.
READ MORE: Sask. wildfires putting lodges out of business: association
Claude is one Saskatoon business that may feel a negative economic effect due to the wildfires; however the effect on the cities economy on a whole will be minimal, according to Kent Smith-Windsor, executive director of the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce.
“The impacts will be small enough that Saskatoon in and of itself won’t see it as positive or a negative for 2015.”
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