People across Saskatchewan will soon have a chance to provide input on changes to one of the oldest pieces of fire legislation in Canada.
Saskatchewan Environment is holding a series of public meetings on proposed new legislation called The Wildfire Act.
It will replace The Prairie and Forest Fires Act of 1982, which the ministry says has not kept pace with current wildfire suppression practices.
Policy analyst Del Phillips says one area of change will be the Wildland Urban Interface:
“Basically, that’s where structures and forest meet. And what we’re proposing is the adoption of what we call FireSmart practices — and that would mean for any new development in provincial forest, they would have to conform with wildfire mitigation measures related to the building, the construction of that building, and the vegetation that surrounds it.”
Philips say a number of meetings specifically involving northern industy will also be held.
They will include representatives from the mining, forestry and oil and gas sectors.
Meetings with First Nations, municipalities, communities and the public are to be held in May and June.
The first meeting takes place in Prince Albert tomorrow night.
Community meetings in the province’s north will get underway in September, after the peak wildfire season.