This summer’s devastating fires in northern Saskatchewan were a talking point for the Liberal leader on Wednesday.
The campaign trail brought Justin Trudeau to La Ronge in the afternoon and Meadow Lake in the evening.
He toured ground zero of the area that saw the most evacuations, and many homes lost to the devastating forest fires that hit La Ronge area.
Trudeau says he – unlike Harper – will commit to first ministers conferences, with the premiers and territorial leaders, to discuss these issues.
“The reality of climate change is that we’re going to see more and more extreme weather events and we need to make sure that as a country we’re properly equipped to deal with these challenges. And I think moving towards a better collaboration and understanding of resources, on training, and on funding is something that the federal government needs to be active on,” he said.
Trudeau had a few more jabs for the Conservatives, saying its MPs are more concerned about bringing Ottawa’s message to the north, rather than vice versa.
Lawrence Joseph is the Liberal candidate in Desnethe-Missinipi Churchill river, and Trudeau spoke about him with media.
“It’s about time this community and this part of the country had representation that is focused on making sure that we in Ottawa understand the challenges and the opportunities in this beautiful part of the country,” Trudeau said.
As well, he spoke about the connection between the environment and the economy.
Joseph pitches the importance of voting liberal in the north.
“The scrapping of protection for the waters in the omnibus bill that the Conservatives actually introduced, it’s got to be dealt with in a very strategic way with input from the people who are most impacted. Meaning, the hunters, the fishers, the trappers,” he said. “But most importantly a livelihood that’s being threatened by Ottawa legislation without feedback, input from people living in the north.”
In the past, Conservative MP Rob Clarke has criticized Joseph for changing from an NDP candidate last election to Liberal this time around.
(With files from Braden Malsbury)