Latest news with #SPSA
Hamilton Spectator
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Outstanding Citizenship Award winner at Sask Polytechnic honoured to be chosen
Graduates at the Prince Albert Campus of Saskatchewan Polytechnic crossed the stage at the Art Hauser Centre on Thursday. The convocation ceremony took place in two parts with a morning and afternoon session. Harishgowtham (Harish) Shanmugam, a graduate of the Business diploma program, received the Outstanding Citizenship Award. Shanmugam was vice president of the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Students Association in Prince Albert and positively influenced campus life through initiatives like the Community Pantry Project which helped students facing food insecurity by providing accessible food options on campus. Shanmugam was humbled to be recognized with the award. 'I'm really honoured to get the award and it's very exciting for me,' Shanmugam said. 'I'm truly grateful to for the experience I have had at Sask Polytech. 'I would say it's more than just a student role, and it's a really great experience for me. Receiving (the) Outstanding Student Citizenship Award is a huge honour. I hope this encourages other people coming up to make initiatives for the future for our community.' Shanmugam explained that he started the Community Pantry initiative because he saw fellow students struggling with food insecurity. 'I want every student to have food whenever needed,' he said. 'I don't want anyone to attend the classes with an empty stomach or it's hard to concentrate. This Community Fridge helps the students to get a meal and it helps them to avoid hunger. It's always easy to concentrate when you're feeling good.' Shanmugam said he became involved in student government in India. He continued that trend upon moving to Canada. He joined the SPSA as a campus representative in his first year and was elected vice president at the end of that term to serve in his second year. 'When I came to Canada, I found SPSA (Saskatchewan Polytechnic Students Association) would be one of my go to places,' he said. 'If you want to make a change, if you want to advocate for change, or if you want to advocate for students needs, SPSA would be the right place.' In addition to advocacy work, Shanmugam created an engaging campus environment by organizing and participating in student events. Shanmugan is originally from the Namakal District in Tamil Nadu in India 'I have completed my two years of course in Canada, right now I have applied for my work permit and I'm just waiting for the work permit to get approved,' he said. He thanked the entire team at the campus for the experience. 'I would say thank you for Sask. Polytech as well,' he said. 'I'm truly grateful for the experience I have had at Sask. Polytech and the SPSA and I hope my story encourages others to step up and make most of their time as students. The time goes really quick.' Dr. Has Malik, Provost and Vice President, Academic gave the speech before Shanmugam received the award from Larry Rosia the President and CEO of Saskatchewan Polytechnic. Prince Albert Carlton MLA Kevin Kasun brought greetings from the province. Sask Polytechnic Board Chair Mitch Holash brought greetings from the board and brought greetings from the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Students' Association. Rosia also gave the President's Address. Micah Daniels from Sturgeon Lake played an honour song and Elder Violet Naytowhow said the prayer to open the ceremony before Kim Villeneauve sang 'O Canada'. During the morning and afternoon session philanthropist and entrepreneur Jim Pattison received the 2025 Honorary Degree in Applied Studies, which will be awarded by Rosia on June 24 in Vancouver. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CTV News
2 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
Sask.'s 4 major wildfires not growing in size, $1.8M distributed to affected communities, SPSA says
Volunteer firefighters from Davidson, Sask., load up their truck at the Provincial Wildfire Center in Prince Albert, Sask., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. The fire fighters are on their way to Weyakwin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency's (SPSA) vice president of operations Steve Roberts says that none of the four major wildfires currently burning in Saskatchewan are growing in size or threatening new communities. During an update Wednesday afternoon, Roberts said that thanks to ideal weather conditions, crews have continued to gain ground on fires, a trend that has lasted more than a week. The four major fires are the Pisew fire near La Ronge, the Ditch02 fire near Weyakwin, the Shoe fire east of Candle Lake and the Wolf fire near Creighton, a community that remains evacuated. 'We continue to do those efforts on the ground to secure those areas that is including those communities that have not yet returned,' Roberts said. Communities that remain evacuated as of Wednesday are Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake, Whelan Bay and priority individuals in Cumberland House. 'Our staff are working with community leaders to pass on information on when the situation has been moderated to aid them in making decisions about repatriation,' Roberts said. As of 1:30 Wednesday afternoon, 17 wildfires were burning in Saskatchewan, four are listed as not contained, according to the SPSA's website. SPSA president Marlo Pritchard said the priority remains ensuring financial support is received by evacuees. 'We are continuing to send either retroactive food security support, such as payment for groceries to those that have registered with the SPSA,' Pritchard said, adding that eligible residents must call 1-855-559-5502 to confirm registration or to get assistance in registering as an evacuee. '[That is] so we can get those retroactive payments out which could be up to $200 per household per day,' he said. Pritchard also said the SPSA has identified all eligible communities whose residents will receive $500 in emergency funding that was announced by the Government of Saskatchewan. 'Some of those communities have indicated that they will administer payments themselves and other communities are requesting assistance from us,' he said. Every evacuee who was 18 or older as of June 20 are eligible for the $500 payment. 'I can announce that as of today there has been approximately $1.8 million moved to communities to start distributing to their community members,' Pritchard said.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Sask. government says individuals attempted to ‘trespass' into restricted area of La Ronge airport
Conair Dash 8-400AT Airtankers are parked on the tarmac in Abbotsford, B.C., Friday, April. 26, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) alleges several individuals were caught 'attempting to trespass' at the La Ronge airport earlier this week. In a media advisory Wednesday, the SPSA said members of its frontline staff reported the group was found at the air operations base on Monday, June 16. 'At any time - but especially during a wildfire crisis - it is unacceptable for anyone to interfere with wildfire and emergency personnel operations,' the advisory read. The agency went on to encourage residents to respect the safety rules posted around its emergency operations centres. Saskatchewan NDP Leader Carla Beck and MLA for Cumberland Jordan McPhail visited several communities damaged by the fires over the course of June 16-17 - one of which included La Ronge. The NDP released a statement shortly after the SPSA advisory – explaining that its members were recording a video in the airport's parking lot. 'The Sask. Party government's statement is desperate, ridiculous, and a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that nearly half of their air tankers were secretly grounded during the worst wildfires in a decade,' the NDP statement read. 'Standing in a paid public parking lot to shoot a video is not trespassing.' Beck shared the video on social media. During the minute-long clip, Beck and McPhail can be seen standing in front of a hangar and several aircraft. 'We're going to continue to listen to those voices from the front line about what is needed now and about the lessons they've learned, should have been learned by the government,' Beck said. 'We're going to push for better preparation.' Water bomber capacity On Monday, the NDP highlighted that the province's newest addition to its water bomber fleet, a Conair Dash 8-Q400AT airtanker, was forced to sit idle – due to a lack of qualified pilots. SPSA officials quickly revealed that four of its pilots were training to operate the new aircraft – and had completed simulator training as well as other requirements. However, due to Transport Canada regulations, each pilot would have to train for a certain number of hours in the physical aircraft with an experienced instructor. Due to the provincial state of emergency and overall worsening fire season across Canada, the agency put the training efforts on hold and reallocated the pilots to other aircraft. 'Furthermore, there is a national, critical shortage of qualified and experienced aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs),' the province said in its statement. 'We have filled some vacancies by partnering with schools to fill positions with apprentices to build our capacity in the future. We have also had some success in contracting AME's and continue to work to increase our capacity.' According to the Government of Saskatchewan, the province operates four Convair 580A land-based air tankers, six CL-215T turbine powered water-scooping air tankers and seven smaller 'bird-dog' aircraft – which guide air tankers and direct other air traffic near wildfires. Mandatory inspections caused two of the CL-215Ts to be unavailable for five days this fire season – while another CL-215T is out for the season due to 'extensive structural inspections and repairs.' Two CV580s are currently grounded due to unavailable parts and necessary maintenance. One of the planes is expected to be up and running by the end of the month while the other is grounded until further notice due to a failed propeller. The province noted that extra aircraft were also commissioned from other jurisdictions to help fight the blazes.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
LIVE @ 1:30: Sask. to provide wildfire response update
Volunteer firefighters from Davidson, Sask., load up their truck at the Provincial Wildfire Center in Prince Albert, Sask., Wednesday, June 4, 2025. The fire fighters are on their way to Weyakwin. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Liam Richards The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) will be providing another update regarding the province's wildfire response Wednesday afternoon at 1:30. The update can be watched live at the top of this article. On Tuesday, the SPSA said that all evacuations had ended except for five communities. Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake, Whelan Bay and priority individuals in Cumberland House remain evacuated. As of 10:30 Wednesday morning, the SPSA's website said 16 wildfires were burning in the province with three not contained. So far in 2025, the province has seen 261 wildfires, well above the five-year average of 157. The SPSA has confirmed that 350 values have been lost, with the number expected to climb past 500 once more assessments are completed. On Wednesday morning Saskatchewan's Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety Tim McLeod said that as many as 30 individuals are currently suspected of intentional arson regarding wildfires, adding that more charges are expected to be laid. The SPSA has said that the majority of wildfires this season have been accidentally started by humans, but that at least 30 were believed to have been ste intentionally. RCMP have charged two individuals with arson regarding the Ditch02 fire near Weyakwin. More to come…
CTV News
2 days ago
- Politics
- CTV News
Sask. minister says as many as 30 people under investigation for arson related to wildfires
Sask. Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod says the opposition is playing politics and spreading misinformation when it comes to use of new planes in the firefight Saskatchewan's Minister of Corrections, Policing and Public Safety says that as many as 30 individuals are being investigated regarding intentional arson related to wildfires in the province this year. Tim McLeod said that investigations remain ongoing and he expects police to announce more charges. So far, two arson charges have been laid by RCMP regarding the Ditch02 fire near Weyakwin which forced multiple evacuations. 'I know that there are many others that are being investigated, last I heard in the neighbourhood of 30 individuals are suspected of and being investigated for intentional arson and that is just an absolute shame when you think about the devastation that these fires cause,' McLeod said during an interview with CTV Morning Live Saskatchewan on Wednesday. According to McLeod, it's the province's full belief that police investigations will lead to full prosecutions for people found to be responsible for intentionally starting wildfires. The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency (SPSA) has confirmed that 350 values have been lost in wildfires to date, with the number expected to exceed 500 following more investigations that includes assessing the community of Denare Beach later this week. Last week the SPSA said that many of the wildfires in Saskatchewan this year were set accidentally by humans, but that they believed at least 30 were intentionally set. So far in 2025 the province has seen 261 wildfires, well above the five-year average of 157. Currently there are 17 active wildfires, three are considered not contained. However, recent rainfall and cooler temperatures have allowed crews to take a more offensive approach to fighting wildfires and fire growth has been minimal for the better part of two weeks. All but five evacuations have ended in the province. According to the SPSA, Creighton, Denare Beach, East Trout Lake, Whelan Bay and priority individuals in Cumberland House remain evacuated. A provincial fire ban was also lifted this week as well as a ban on ATV and UTV vehicles. The province will provide an update regarding the current wildfire situation at 1:30 Wednesday afternoon.
