Saskatoon law firm considers class action against province over poor wildfire response

(John Flatters/CTV News)

A Saskatoon law firm says it’s considering launching a class action lawsuit against the province for its failure to adequately respond to the devastating wildfires that displaced approximately 20,000 people last month.

In a news release last week, Procido LLP said it’s “evaluating the viability of a negligence claim” against the Saskatchewan government, alleging it “may have failed in its duty to protect the people and property of the north” by failing to act with sufficient resources and urgency.

Procido founding partner Chad Eggerman told CTV News he has a family cabin in Narrow Hills Provincial Park, which was decimated by the Shoe Fire — a blaze that grew to be the province’s largest.

“It seemed like it wasn’t really addressed very quickly, or at all, by the provincial government, who are responsible for forest fire fighting in northern Saskatchewan,” he said.

“And it got bigger, and bigger, and eventually it connected with another fire and became completely uncontrollable. The whole time I was watching it, it seemed like there was just no resources to contain or control it.”

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Eggerman says he felt for the firefighters stationed at the provincial fire base in Narrow Hills, just a few hundred metres from his cabin.

“I feel for them, because they were totally under resourced,” he said. “They had no resources to fight any fires, so the folks that were in the forest fire fighting base just left, and the whole...base just burnt.”

Eggerman says at that point it became clear to him there was “a massive lack of resources” and insufficient planning in place.

Procido says its early findings suggest only five of the province’s 10 water bombers were operating during the crisis.

The law firm alleges rural municipalities in the path of growing wildfires were unable to issue emergency alerts because no one with the local government had authority from the province to do so.

It also pointed to statements from residents of East Trout Lake, who say they were told by the public safety agency they were in no immediate danger, when they knew the fire was fast approaching.

East Trout Lake subsequently “burnt to the ground,” says Procido.

Procido says it’s possible negligence from the Saskatchewan government may have also led to greater damages in Manitoba, particularly in the Flin Flon area and on Lake Athapapuskow.

“Would the fires have been contained and extinguished faster if First Nations located in Northern Saskatchewan had the authority and resources to undertake firefighting duties?”

The law firm says the “material failures of the provincial government … may constitute negligence and raise serious concerns about the government preparedness and ability to maintain public safety and order.”

The list of affected parties is long, says Procido. The wildfires impacted property owners, First Nations who lost traditional harvesting lands, mining companies that suspended operations, trucking companies, tourism operators, and evacuees, who were unable to work while sheltered away from their homes and belongings.

CTV News contacted the province to ask about the potential lawsuit, but it declined to comment.

“The Government of Saskatchewan has not been served with any claims related to this matter,” a spokesperson for the executive council said in an email.

“As this regards a hypothetical court matter, the province has no further comment to provide at this time.”

In the meantime, Procido is holding a webinar on July 7 to make its case to prospective plaintiffs.

It remains to be seen if a lawsuit will materialize.

-With files from Stacey Hein