Alex Zahara presents information on wildfire policy. Photo by Travis Radke.
Mayors and politicians from a variety of northern communities gathered in Prince Albert today to take part in a series of presentations based on issues troubling the north.
A presentation on research into northern wildfire management policy discussed possible revaluations of evacuation procedures and the motives behind controversial “let it burn” policies.
“At least as far as I can tell, there seems to be a push towards northern-run evacuation policies or Indigenous-run evaluation policies — and to me, that seems to be a good practice,” said presenter and northern Saskatchewan wildfire researcher Alex Zahara. “Since the ‘let it burn’ policy began, northern MLAs have been against it. So whether they’re SaskParty or NDP, they’ve never really liked it and people have expressed the same concerns.”
Zahara explained that “let it burn” policies were originally implemented in the early 2000’s as a measure to protect the environment, and that they are largely controversial due to a distinct difference in values between people in the province’s north and south.
In the afternoon, the Embracing life Committee took to the stage to share its plans on helping to prevent suicide in northern Saskatchewan.
The committee began by explaining that its mission was to reduce, intervene and provide services after an intervention to suicide victims.
Committee members said the key factor in reaching this goal was to build relationships with northern organizations such as health authorities and the RCMP. They also mentioned that they wanted to change the discussion from “suicide prevention” to “inspiring hope.” They also stressed the importance of finding solutions in Indigenous culture.
“We’re trying to change the way we talk to people and the way we present to others,” said committee member Ashley Norton of the Keewatin Yatthe Regional Health Authority. “We need that connection to culture, we need that spirituality. It doesn’t matter what faith it is.”
Assisting in developing training for suicide prevention and working on developing a northern mental health agency were also discussed by the committee.