Civically Speaking Podcast with Host, Lenore Swystun and Co-Host, Christina Cherneskey
Civically Speaking Podcast with Host, Lenore Swystun and Co-Host, Christina Cherneskey
2025.06.03 Civically Speaking – Episode Title: Part 1: Wildfires & Philanthropy in Action with Rachael Steinke and Fred Reibin Part 2: First Ministers, Homelessness, E-Scooters & Summer Soundscapes in Saskatoon
Dear Listeners,
This week on Civically Speaking, we bring you an important two-part episode exploring the stories, issues, and voices shaping Saskatoon.
Part 1: Wildfires, Community Response & Philanthropy in Action
Lenore Swystun sits down with Rachael Steinke, Chief Executive Officer of the Saskatoon Community Foundation, and Fred Reibin, Shareholder Engagement Lead and Brand Manager, to talk about how this season’s wildfires are impacting communities across Saskatchewan—and how local organizations are responding. Rachael and Fred spotlight the role of the Saskatoon Community Foundation, CUMFI (Central Urban Métis Federation Inc.), and the United Way of Saskatoon and Area in mobilizing urgent support and long-term recovery along with other key organizations including the Canadian Red Cross.
Part 2: What’s Making News in Saskatoon
In the second half, we turn to timely civic issues, including the First Ministers’ Meeting with Prime Minister Mark Carney held recently in Saskatoon. We also check in on the homelessness situation, share thoughts on e-scooters, and round things out with a local summertime classic: a candid (and slightly comedic) rant about revving engines and late-night noise.
Tune in to stay informed, feel connected, and join the civic conversation.
Civically Speaking,
Lenore Swystun with Christina Cherneskey
Civically Speaking- Saskatoon Saskatchewan's #1 show about civic issues.
Hello everybody, my name is Lenora Swiston, host of Civically Speaking here along with Christina Chernesky and some special guests today considering that in CFCR 90.5 land and by any other way that you reach the show that broadcasts local news and stories from across Saskatchewan and focusing on Saskatoon and area but also going further afield and sometimes much further afield but in this case We're in the back, we're in the backyards, we're in our front yards, we're in all kinds of yards where the wildfires are raging. And so with me today is Rachel Stenge and Fred Rabin. And Rachel, introduce yourself and Fred, let the audience, listening audience know who you are and why we brought you on the show and why it's important for you to
SPEAKER_00:share what you're about to share. Absolutely. So my name is Rachel Steinke. I'm the CEO of the Saskatoon Community Foundation, located here in Treaty 6 territory, but responding much more broadly than that as well. And this is Fred Rieben, who is our Manager of Communications and Marketing for the Saskatoon Community Foundation. And we're here representing some evacuation support efforts here in Saskatoon, and more broadly than that as well.
SPEAKER_03:I want, I want to just go right to the fires right now, because I mean, we're, I'm looking at the map right now. And I mean, we just heard that La Ronge has been evacuated. That's huge. Like that is a huge thing when we talk about the northern city of La Ronge, you know, and then all of the other communities around there, there are a number of active fires underway. There's only one or two that are actually under control. Otherwise, the rest are still out of control. You want to share with us a bit about what the context is that you're working within and then what are the things that you're doing from your end?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. So I had the privilege of living and working in northern Saskatchewan and La Ronge for eight years and responding as a municipal council member through the Emergency Operations Centre on the ground in La Ronge. And so the thing that people maybe don't always know about La Ronge is it's actually a tri-community area. So there's the town of La Ronge, there's the village of Air Ronge, and then there's the Lac La Ronge Indian Band that are all together in that area. And so all together, the population of that that specific community, although it's three communities, is about 7,500 individuals. So with the evacuation order that came yesterday, that means there's probably 7,000 people, 7,500 people on the road to safe locations with family, with friends, to evacuation centers, to, I'm hearing, you know, even some of the First Nations are opening evacuation or land-based evacuation centers as well. And unfortunately, in this circumstance, in comparison to the egg fire in 2015, time and wind were not in the favor of the tri-community area as well. So the evacuation order came very late, but based on the recommendations of experts at the appropriate time. And so there were huge convoys out of La Ronge last night, quite a bit of panic on the road, quite a bit of fire on the road near Wayaquin. And then also from what I'm hearing from folks uh fire on the tail end as well and so uh hearing today um very humbly and and recognizing the loss that many people have gone through many cabins are gone uh many uh new builds and other communities are are gone as well um and so this is going to take a long time for saskatchewan to heal from and the north to heal from and i really believe that we have a responsibility as a community to wrap our arms around our neighbors because we're all in this together And so, uh, we had the privilege of being at the community foundations of Canada conference last week, um, and hearing some of the stories as well of responding to natural disasters, um, that community foundations are part of. And so one of the first things, um, that we did and Fred jumped in here, uh, he was in Halifax at the time I was on planes traveling back and he had team back here. Uh, but we were working with the United way. Uh, we were working with our board of directors. We were working with, uh, the emergency operations center here in Saskatoon and the emergency management officer to say, what can we do? We don't want to duplicate services, but what are the gaps and what do you need? And so what we were hearing at the time and what will continue to be a growing gap right now is going to be programming and support for evacuees of northern Saskatchewan right now to support mental health and wellness and transportation to access communities, because many of the basic things are covered uh, through the red cross and you can give to the red cross to support that effort as well. Um, and we're filling other gaps as well. And so we're partnering, uh, specifically with the United way on this, which is, um, very exciting for us, you know, in an opportunity to work together and collaborate together. Um, but with very, very heavy hearts, um, recognizing what's happening in our home province. And so, um, I think many people this morning are waking up to a different Saskatchewan. Many people have been touched by these fires now in a very different way than they were when they went to bed yesterday. And I'd love for Fred to speak to that too, because, you know, we have people on the road and are in PA this morning coming to us tonight who are staying with us, my niece and nephew and family, but Fred's also impacted by this as well. And so I think this is a call on community to open their hearts generously and give back to our Northern neighbors and support each other because we're all one.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, for sure. De Niro Beach has been a place that's been close to my heart for a long time. I grew up there. My aunt and uncle's cabin was a place we would go every summer. Now they've lost it. So hearing just how my aunt packed some precious memories up into her car and now it's not left. I think another thing that's been hitting home for me is just the reality that a lot of the people who are evacuated, there's a lot of children in there. So the calls for supplies, the calls for entertainment things that kids need, crayons, coloring books, swimsuits. So all these funds that we're collecting along with the United Way, we're giving them to the organizations so they can respond quickly and they can make the best use of the needs that those communities have as they're seeing them.
SPEAKER_03:How can we be involved? Tell us, tell the listening audience how they need to be
SPEAKER_00:involved in this. Sure. There's a few different ways you can be involved. So if you have, if you log into your Facebook page or you go to Comfy's page, Comfy is accepting donations of used, new clothes, toys, all those sort of things. I think strollers and wheelchairs are a call right now too. But stay up to date on Facebook for Comfy. The most current needs, if you want to donate things. If you're interested in donating resources, you can go to the Saskatoon Community Foundation website. At the top of our website, you'll see a banner taking you to our emergency response fund. You can also go to the United Ways page as well. And they have a donation portal open there as well. And there's also opportunities to give through the Red Cross as well. So it really depends what's most appropriate and important to you as a donor. But we invite the communities to get involved and make sure we're wrapping around those who have maybe lost everything.
SPEAKER_03:Christina, I know you've got some comments here and questions.
SPEAKER_02:Rachel, have you had a chance to speak to some of the evacuees and get some insight as to what their reactions are and how they're feeling at this point?
SPEAKER_00:I think it's a lot of disbelief. It came so quick and there just wasn't enough time. And I think as well, there's certainly a call for more communication right now. I think people are really, really trying to find out information from any sources that they can. And when that's the case, sometimes, and a huge shout out, especially to Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of Lac La Ronge Indian Band, who has been an incredible source of communication in the last 24 hours. and an incredible source of information in in mitigating panic i would say even in the convoy last night as well um and so i think that that's just a testament to her incredible leadership in the communities as well um so that's that i would say that's it's disbelief it's because there's many people that are assuming their cabins are gone based on what they've seen from their neighbors. There's not a ton of understanding yet about how severely the community of La Ronge area has been impacted, but also like Denier Beach too, because I know there's some cabins saved, there's some homes saved, there's some others not. And so that level of uncertainty for evacuees, I think is something really important for people to understand. Because I can tell you, I've been on both sides of it. And actually, I saw the the fire chief, the former fire chief of La Ronge had posted, I've never had so many mixed feelings. I want to be in La Ronge. And I'm so glad I'm not in La Ronge right now. And now having being on the other side of it, right and not living there, right. At this point, my heart goes out to our northern neighbors. And we are here to support in any possible way that we can. And so I just wanted to also share that in partnership with the EOC, the Emergency Operations Committee, the service provider that's been identified at this current time, and there may be others as well, is Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation as well for much of this recreation and mental health support as well. And so I think it's really important to make sure that we're leaning into our Indigenous leaders and going, where do we support you in this journey as well and not make assumptions about the best places to provide sources to?
SPEAKER_02:Fred, I'm also hoping that you can offer some input and direction on how people can not only just help, but in any other way, offer services or assistance to either Saskatoon Community Foundation or if you know of any other organizations which need that direction too.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I feel like it's really important to acknowledge that as of yesterday, there was 2,800 people in Saskatoon alone. And that's before La Ronge was evacuated. So there's going to be even more people landing all the time. And those people have just lost everything. There's the uncertainty. So they're in a place that they're hurting. And so... There's the organizations that are stepping up to support, but I feel like each of us in some way will cross paths with people in the community. So we have this opportunity to host people in our community and to show the hospitality to people who need it the most. So just being a good community member and kind of doing what you can to understand who's here in the city and where they are. I'm sure that around Cosmo Civic Center, where they're housing a lot of people, people. People are going to go out. They're not going to just sit in one place. So there's going to be, you know, you go to the swimming pools, there's going to be people at the swimming pools and all that kind of stuff. So just really like going above and beyond to show that welcoming hospitality here in the city, just as you would a family member who's just went through something like this.
SPEAKER_00:And I think that's such an important point, Fred. I just want to say like philanthropy is much more than just dollars and cents. Philanthropy is a sense of generosity and a sense of welcoming in our community too, right? We have a responsibility to be great humans to each other. And sometimes it can feel challenging to do that. And I would challenge everybody who's tuning in to open your heart, open your home, you know give food you know like whatever you need to do because like everybody is here not everybody but like so many people are here and it's just a responsibility to be good people
SPEAKER_02:You know, I'm seeing the evacuations, you know, all the way from, well, really northeastern Saskatchewan, to be sort of precise. But the roadways all the way down from Prince Albert, North Battleford, Saskatoon, even Regina and other communities as well are taking in evacuees. There comes a real sort of troubling thought about I'm just looking at the weather has shifted a little bit. What if PA is affected? I mean, is there enough room? Is there enough help for people who have been evacuated in this province?
SPEAKER_00:That's a really good question. And we're very lucky. And I mean, like yesterday, for example, Prime Minister Carney was here hosting a gathering with the premiers from across the provinces and the territories. And I will say one of the things that has always been astounding to me in moments of crisis in our province is the way we come together.
SPEAKER_02:And so it's
SPEAKER_00:so beautiful. Like I think, I don't know, it wasn't Fred or I, but a group of our team was on the way back from Halifax and they were on a plane with several firefighters from Nova Scotia as well. And like just ready and raring to go. I remember when we were responding to the egg fire years ago, I think at one point we had 40 departments from across Saskatchewan and the country present And fighting the fire, right? Like there is such beauty in community and in crisis and how people come together. And so I think we're going to hear those stories in the days to come about how do we support our neighbors. I know Cold Lake is also hosting evacuees already. So that's already kind of our Alberta neighbors are already supporting. And if there is need, we trust that our neighbors will support us in that as well.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, thank you for that. I want to go here for a little bit. You're talking about helping folks right now into the long term, into the midterm, because for us, yeah, it's the immediate and we can help right in the moment, but we know this is a long, this is the impacts of this are going to be long reaching. What are some of the things that we need to be thinking about in preparation for that too? You know, Fred and Rachel, you're talking about, you know, the Saskatoon Community Foundation and other partners, you know, saying cure, help now. How does that help extend? And how are you going to be building that relationship? And how can we stay alive in that relationship?
SPEAKER_00:That's a really good question. And I will say, I'm not sure we figured it out yet. But I think we will have a role as many, many, many other partners will in supporting rebuild efforts, repatriation efforts. And in other provinces and in other countries, community foundations have played a role in that way to bring people together. If we're thinking about the hurricanes and the Maritimes or fires in Alberta, they have had a role in responding to crisis as we have in, for example, COVID or opening a funding portal in when the Humboldt Broncos accident happened in different situations like that. So the cool thing about community foundations is they're very nimble. They're meant to be responsive to community needs. And I think, you know, when we think about community, we have to think about, you know, community. When we think Saskatoon area community, the community, right? And so that's the beautiful thing that we're contemplating too at the Saskatoon Community Foundation is what does that mean? How do we be a partner? How do we be a supporter? How do we lift people up as we go? And how do we make sure that we all have a vibrant community or communities where everyone belongs?
SPEAKER_01:And that being nimble that Rachel talked about, I think that's an opportunity that we all have. So if a donor or someone is feeling really called or compelled to give, come and talk with us at the Community Foundation and we can help to match that with organization or a cause to make that idea that you have, that caring idea you have come to life.
SPEAKER_00:And, and that's a really important thing too. And I really believe that we need to be, um, at the table and a partner in that too. So our board met Saturday morning and they contemplated what we can do right now. And they've made an initial commitment and gift of$25,000 to support these efforts as well. And so I'm not a person that believes in, I think we need to put our best foot forward as well. And so supporting our organization to do that. So just also a huge shout out to our board of directors for responding when we need to respond.
SPEAKER_03:Tell us a little bit more about how the Community Foundation works. Like if I want to give a donation to the Community Foundation, Fred, you just said something like if I want to even go deeper, you know, how does that work? Where do I go to find that information again? Repeat, repeat, repeat, as we know in marketing and communications. And then, you know, send us a list of your best links to this. You said comfy. People might not know what that is. So if you can explain who that is a little bit, what that acronym stands for and even how to spell it. people might be with pen and paper or the old school way as they're listening to us you can give us a little bit more of that information that would be great
SPEAKER_00:sure maybe i'll do that first and we'll send some stuff to you guys in the background so comfy stands for central urban metis Federation Incorporated, CUMFI, and they're the ones that are accepting donations right now and will deploy to evacuation centers. In terms of donations with the Saskatoon Community Foundation specifically or the United Way, our website is www. saskatooncommunityfoundation.ca and you'll find a banner just at the top about the wildfire response fund and then when we're talking a bit more broadly about inspiring philanthropy so our role is to inspire philanthropy in community of saskatoon and then repurpose those funds, support those funds to get back to community-based organizations. So we administer a number of different granting programs, both single-year and multi-year granting programs. One is called a Quality of Life program. One's called our Youth Endowment Fund or Youth, yes, sorry, Youth Endowment Saskatoon. And that one's a really cool one because the decisions are made by youth specifically. And the third is a multi-year grant focused on inclusion and equity and homelessness. And that's called the Vital Focus Grants. And you can find information about all of that on our website. And if you're interested in getting in contact to learn more about the foundation, how you can become more involved, you can give us a call anytime at 665-1768. And we'll be happy to direct your call to where it needs to go.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, no, that's great. And Fred, I think you had something to add there.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I think as you're thinking about making a gift, it's important to think about what you want your gift to do. So the potential is kind of endless. And a lot of times it's very personal. You might have a personal relationship with something specific. So understanding what you want your gift to do and then the timeframe of the impact you want to have, whether that's immediate or it's ongoing over time. So we have different funds that can either bring your gift right into a cause immediately, or it can sit in perpetuity and then grant out the interest. So depending on your situation, what you have to give, there's no amount that's too big or too small. Get in touch and then we can work through that process together to really make it a good fit for you and for the organizations that you're supporting.
SPEAKER_00:And we specifically do have two philanthropic advisors on our team that specialize in this as well.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, I appreciate you sharing this because I think, you know, somebody like me, I wanted to help right away. So originally you saw I dove in right away. I was like, hey, this is great. It's nice to see a local organization that's reached out where I can put something that I know is going to go there and have an immediate effect. Other folks might say, you know, I really want to support this initiative into the long term. So you're giving that ability for people to extend out into that way. And then what I'm also hearing is that you also are working with the other organizations within, you know, City of South We'll keep it there for now, right? of what's going on in Saskatchewan I don't know if folks are aware of what this actually means because we're used to on a map and I'm holding up my little screen here but you know we're used to in Saskatchewan looking at this bottom half a lot of times but literally the whole top of this province is kind of on fire in some way
SPEAKER_02:it's true it's on fire and and I also report on the news too so I I get up really early in the morning time and for these last two weeks delivering the news, it's been nothing but fires, despite the prime minister coming to town, despite the first ministers, despite a myriad of other stories that have cropped up. It has been nothing but this. And I think people are starting to get a realization now that this is happening, that people are being funneled out of their communities up north on highways that you cannot see more than two feet ahead of your vehicle down the road to a place of safety. This is being deemed one of the worst fires in Saskatchewan history right now and it's profound in terms of the impact it's having on the province. So when people are asked to help, I think now we're starting to get maybe a glimmer of a realization about this situation. But remember, we're broadcasting in Saskatoon and in Saskatoon we've had tops, three days of smoke. And that's just, you know, some residual smoke. Up north, they've been there for two weeks, I believe, 10 days at least, in smoky areas and in harm's way. So yeah, this is a crazy, crazy time, Rachel and Fred. And I think now in Saskatoon, we're starting to get an understanding. Would you agree, Rachel? Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:I hope so. I hope so. I, yeah, I think so. I like, I think last night was probably the turning point in terms of waking up to very different stories this morning, the number of people and that I have even checking in, you know, with me going, did they make it down? Did the family make it down? Are they okay? Are they here? Right. This morning has been overwhelming and like, beautiful. And also, if I haven't got back to you, I'm so sorry, I will. But it's, I think people are starting to realize how impactful this is. And I just, I think having it happen in so many different places at the same time, I think there's also some stigmas probably related to particular communities that should be addressed at some point, right? Why are we, and I think we have a responsibility as society to think about this, why does it matter if, I don't know how to put this nicely, but why does it matter that a cabin burns at La Ronge, but it doesn't matter that a home burns in Pelican Narrows? I think we need to think about what that means as society. I've always thought, and I've talked about end of the road communities where there's one way in and there's one way out. And there's a level of hopelessness that comes in some of those communities as well. But I think we need to think about why we care about, because now La Ronge is evacuated because Dinére has burned. What does that mean? What if Lelache burned? What if Beauval burned? What if Pinehouse burned? Are people's lives more important than anybody else's? And those are things that I struggle with about this that aren't specific to philanthropy. And I hope we can really challenge some of those stigmas and really be a great host of a community.
SPEAKER_03:I appreciate that. You know, we've taken up the whole first part of civically speaking. So thank you so much for joining us because you're landing on a point where we're talking about equity, where we're talking about interest, where we're talking about, you know, whose voice gets heard and why this is so impactful and why it needs to be. So thank you so much for stepping up. stepping up. It
SPEAKER_00:is our privilege. It is our privilege to say where we care.
SPEAKER_03:We will take good care of guys. Yeah. Thank you so much. We'll be posting this on all of our communications and, and I hope that others will reach out and what you can do contribute in any way possible. Thanks so much, Rachel Stange and Fred Rabin from the Saskatoon community foundation for joining civically speaking this morning with Christina Chernesky and myself, Lenore Swiston. We'll be back in part two right away. Many thanks.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you did. Because we're recording in the morning time.
SPEAKER_03:That's right. I thought I'd give that cue. On
SPEAKER_02:Tuesday, June 3rd, 2025. Welcome to June already, everybody. And it's just... It's just such a, all these words are jumping into my head, weird, awful, horrible, terrible, you know, about what's happening in Saskatchewan and having our friends on from Saskatoon Community Foundation really opened up our eyes in terms of at least one organization, one of many. that are doing their level best to help out. But Rachel said a very interesting thing, Lenore, about the wildfires during her conversation. And it's that of communication. And I know everybody's busting their humps trying to get the word out. But boy, we're hearing from people on the ground, not just in Saskatoon, but in Prince Albert as well, that they wish they knew more. And I don't know if there's any better way or any other way that this emergency can be communicated to everybody who's involved when we're looking at this many people.
SPEAKER_03:The sad part of it is, is that a lot of times if you don't see it, you don't believe it or know the full impact of it. But I think, you know, for, you know, the Candle Lake really kind of. I think opened up a lot of, you know, vacation goers and that, because that's a very popular area for a lot of people.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:I know I've, you know, we've got, you know, family, family cabin in that up in that Emma Lake, Christopher Lake area. So lots of watching going on there into Wasco Sioux. So I think there's lots of watching by, you know, Saskatoon where that is kind of our living room in summer is the North. And, you know, with the major living rooms of that Christopher Lake, Emma Lake, Wasco Sioux, area being one you know the narrow hills which is now closed down being the other one because it is actively on fire and wildly so you know all the other beaches that have been mentioned going all the way into the Creighton area and that as well so you know and of course Crandall Lake that I mentioned earlier so I mean there is a lot of impact to people in Saskatoon that have connections. If we look at our First Nation and Métis communities and nations and the impact that is going in within their lands, within their holdings, within their communities, on reserve and by extension to other holdings they have, it's huge. If the smoke turned and we were going this way more, I think as you said earlier, I mean, yeah, it would be more in our sights. heads up. It's coming. It's not to say it's not coming. Forecast isn't looking great for rain either. I mean, there was a little bit at Wasco Sioux. I was on a call with somebody yesterday and they said Wasco Sioux was having some heavy rain actually at the time that we were speaking. So there are spots going on. But this whole this whole province needs a big shower. It needs a big rain for a long time, you know, for a whole bunch of purposes. And in the most, you know, impactful way here, something that I read and I want to bring this up, too, was in the First Amendment. conference and that with the premier and premiers and, um, um, prime minister and, and teams was Scott Moe's idea of a national firefighting force. I'm intrigued by that because it's saying like these wildfires, no, no bound, no borders. They're all over the place. And so, you know, the considerations at a national scale, you know, when we look to Manitoba equally impacted, if not more, you know, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Alberta, having that be as well and other places. I mean, thinking about how we fight this, how we fight these on a national scale, I think there is a bigger dialogue. Your thoughts on that, Christina?
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I got a lot of thoughts on it. Scott Moe also this morning was on the Evan Bray show on CKOM. And he was there for a long time. He spoke about the damages that have occurred in La Ronge. And he was also talking about when the fire breached La Ronge, it took the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency tanker base, which is a huge loss. I mean, added to the dozens, hundreds of dozens of other losses that we're experiencing already. And The only thing that's going to change this right now, I mean, we could talk about better communication, better firefighting services, a national service, but the only thing that's going to change this right now is rain, as you said, and the hard work of the firefighters, of course, too, who are building the cuts and putting up some walls and spraying down what they can and trying to protect what's left. But it's so tragic when you think of not just the cabins and the people's summer homes, but people's permanent homes. That's what sort of overwhelms me when, as a journalist, I go into this story and try to present it to audiences and people who are listening. Sorry, my phone's ringing off the hook too during this recording. But we're seeing... What I did hear was patients that have to be moved from La Ronge and Stanley Mission to Prince Albert. I'm hearing a lot of other stories as well. But Scott Moe, he was very... Quite frankly, he was... I think he was... not overwhelmed, but stunned almost by the enormity of this situation, as anyone would be, as we all are, you know, when you just really stop and look at it. Mayor Cynthia Block was also on the radio this morning too. And she spoke about what this, what this, the devastation the fire has done to communities throughout Saskatchewan and mentioning the, you know, close to 2000 people that are already in Saskatoon.
SPEAKER_03:No, No audio. Your audio went.
SPEAKER_02:And she's talking about the people that are in Saskatoon, the thousands of people that have already come to Saskatoon. So we're looking at pretty big numbers here in terms of people coming to different communities, how we're going to handle them in terms of feeding them. putting them into comfortable places, giving them at least some peace for the time being, and how they are going to handle their new surroundings for the time being.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, yeah, I know. It's insane. Some of the coverage coming out right now is there's 8,000 residents already displaced by 18 fires burning in Saskatchewan, and the La Ronge evacuation adds to those 8,000. probably another eight, as Rachel was saying from that area. So our numbers in Manitoba's numbers are terrible. And what we can do, as we heard on the first part, was we can contribute whatever we can in terms of resources, time, space, and otherwise, as able as you are to those out there. I hate to pivot out of that, but I know there's other things going on in the news too this week, including what we just mentioned, which was a prime minister back again. This new prime minister has been around Saskatoon a lot, Christina.
SPEAKER_02:Well, I mean, and there's good reason why Mark Carney should... you know, should be coming to Saskatoon. You know, there's, there's a lot going on and then coming to this province as well. The first minister's meeting in, in Saskatoon was an important one. And, and the irony of it, and it's not sitting too well with some people, mostly, I guess, evacuees, is that the meeting, you know, happened almost at the height of the, the wildfires up north. And there's a lot of criticism level to towards some ministers and towards our premier for sitting in meetings when they could be doing something. But I do argue with that. I do believe that Scott Moe was talking to the prime minister. You know, I guess when you're there sort of face to face and there's a major emergency going on in the background, that topic would come up a few times more than anything. So we're hopeful of that. But the first ministers meeting, There was just so much. Energy seemed to be a great topic. Tariffs was a big topic as well. No concrete plans were laid coming out of the meeting, but there was the meeting. Some reporters are calling it actually one of the, and I'm putting this in quotes, but it's one of the best meetings that's taken place. Prime Minister Mark Carney said he would work to remove Chinese tariffs on Canadian agriculture and seafood. That's, he's maintained that was one of the top priorities. And also discussion of nation building projects to make Canada into an energy superpower. I don't know what that is, but maybe, you know, we'll become an energy superpower. So, you know, but good on all the premiers for getting there and there weren't sort of any blasts or, you know, media attention grabbing or anything like that. It seems like they all just came there to talk.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it's interesting. I think there is at one point discussion about would there be any actual projects that were committed to as coming out of the meeting? And that was not the case. I think there was, you know, rumblings within, you know, kind of legacy media and otherwise on social media talking about how, you know, would there be a commitment to a pipeline across the nation? Would there be a commitment to other types of energy, you know, kind of requirements and such? And I think what it came out of it was not so much that shovel ready projects were coming out of this, but just a commitment that we do need to be working together and also on some of the barriers being removed around that interprovincial trade. And that dialogue, I think, was some side conversations brokered and part of this and transparency between, you know, our premier and Ontario's premier and looking at removal of some of those interprovincial trade and what does that mean and also other provinces as well. So it will be interesting in the days following what happens happens.
SPEAKER_02:Just one follow-up note to the First Minister's meeting. Now that the meeting is officially over, Phil Fontaine from the Assembly of First Nations is calling for an emergency meeting of his chiefs, of chiefs, and they are going to come up with demands for government to get some resource and infrastructure projects. They deem to be in the national interest. And I think this was a huge mistake, not bringing in First Nations leaders into that First Minister's conference. And I'm not, I don't know if I understand why or why there wasn't like a portion of the gathering, you know, because the Prime Minister was there. So Phil Fontaine, he said this, he was quoted as saying that the governments, the province and the territories are trying to, quote, demolish First Nations interests as they move to accelerate project approvals. And I think it goes back to that energy superpower issue that I raised a few minutes ago. And Carney has said that there would be meaningful discussions with Indigenous people in Canada with any of these projects that go forward whenever they're announced. But Phil Fontaine wanted answers now. And good on him for speaking up as loudly as he did, because it did catch the attention of a lot of Canadians And I think that that discussion should have been had also in Saskatoon, in my humble opinion.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, there you go. There you go. Well, thanks for sharing that. Some good points that you're making there. What's next in the news on your list, Christina?
SPEAKER_02:Boy, there is a lot, you know. There's a report out. Let me just get my notes together here. There is a report out that just was released about the Children's Advocate Report and homelessness in Saskatoon. And we can tie all of that in. We're going to see a lot more, unfortunately, of homelessness in not just in our city, but in cities across Canada and communities across Canada. And it's an issue that everybody seems to be facing and one that is getting worse, quite honestly. This issue is homelessness in children, though, and a report counted 1,499 people in Saskatoon who were living without a permanent shelter. Of those, 315 were children 12 years of age and younger. And 175 are between the ages of 13 and 24. So pretty high numbers when you think about it of kids who are homeless. And it's something that I think most of us can't even imagine. And so those numbers that are coming out, of course, are going to raise some red flags. And it all goes right back into this big ball that's been tumbling down the hill. of homelessness in Saskatoon. And in fact, Phil Tank, who's just been on the program, wrote a column yesterday about, if you recall last year, when the mayoral campaign first started between Gord Wyant and Cynthia Block, the two main contenders at that time, Gord Wyant's claim was that Saskatoon is broken. And he was referring to homelessness, addiction, addiction on the streets. And a year later, we're seeing it, if not even worse, and we're seeing it perpetuate. My favorite line is, Lenore, you and I bring up the homelessness issue just about every week on this program. And we do it because we can't get away from it. And we can't seem to get any solutions. And you always very patiently tell me that things are going on. And I very impatiently tell you that it's still getting worse on the streets. So now we've got more numbers that are placed in front of us in terms of the homelessness issue in Saskatoon.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it was the point in time count, the pit count, as they call it, and it was for the last year. We talked about it a little bit on the last show, and I had given a heads up to this report and others that were coming out. And so, you know, with what's going on in the north and people coming into our city, you know, as kind of, you know, fire refugees, in a sense, if we wanted to put it that way, we can anticipate that we're going to have some challenges here, you know, in terms of emergency shelters and otherwise, no matter that it's summer, without a home, it sucks. It doesn't matter what time of year. So it'll be very, very interesting to see what also gets motivated because crisis can be a great motivator of solutions instead of waiting. Yeah, that's a good point.
SPEAKER_02:That is a good point.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, so I'm hopeful that this might kind of push some of that. I know Chief Arcand has really, you know, stepped up in the past on this and, you know, the Travel Council is Going to be stepping up again, can guarantee that. And what else are organizations going to be doing? And then it does come to mind about, you know, when the ministers were meeting and the prime minister was meeting, you know, housing was one of the dialogues and how are we going to expedite that in a really good way? That's really looking about the end user being those that need homes, not just the builders and the developers, but the end users. And so that's the cautionary notice The benefits got to really come to the people that need the houses the most and getting the hands of them into them without too much constraints or barriers, we hope. So we'll be watching for that. So, okay. So what else is there going on? Because I feel like it's a kind of a strange time when we go from that May to that June. And June is kind of like the last month before June. We try to take a breath into summer, though I don't know if we do get any breaths in summer anymore. June is the month of National Indigenous Peoples Day. It's the summer solstice coming up on the 21st. We are literally in the longest days of Saskatchewan right now. There are a lot of youth that are really, really looking forward to school being done. Yeah,
SPEAKER_02:that's right. Yeah, it's really it's coming close.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah, it's the push, though, you know, final exams, all this sort of stuff, get your reports and all that sort of stuff. On the university front, for those that are taking spring classes and all that sort of stuff, they kind of start to wrap up and all that. Convocations are happening this week. Shout out to a colleague of mine, Kenan, who's walking across the stage probably as I'm talking with you. Shout
SPEAKER_02:out
SPEAKER_03:to several of
SPEAKER_02:my friends and colleagues who are walking across the stage too.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, you know, so have that. You know, so it's going to be interesting to see. Summer, we know, is festival season, but festivals have changed. There's not a taste of Saskatchewan in the same way. Had Phil Tank on here last week. He was talking about missing out on some of those festivals that we used to have and how we need to get back into kind of filling the menu of festivals in Saskatoon. So, Christina, What does that have you thinking as we come into the month of June? I'll tell
SPEAKER_02:you. I always send out this sheet of topic ideas and save some of the juicy ones for the bottom. But I do want to mention something that is the season and comes with city approval and such that the e-scooters are back on the streets. And you can always tell They're back, not just by seeing people, you know, on the roads with them because you're not supposed to be on the sidewalk with the e-scooters. But then you see the scooters. sort of scattered around at the end of their ride. And I can always tell people right away who are the polite ones who carefully put the scooter, you know, off to either the side of the sidewalk or in a place where it's easy for them to be collected the next day in case someone else doesn't use it. And the ones who are just downright rude and just topple the scooter wherever. But it is cool to see them back on the roads for sure. It's a great project that's been here in Saskatoon for three years. This is the third year for the e-scooters. And there are two companies that provide the, they are the vendors for the scooters. And there's all sorts of rules and regulations and you need an app to be able to use it. And I like going on them. I think they're fun. So watch out for them if you're driving around.
SPEAKER_03:I know you put in your notes a rant about 8th Street. One of mine is around really being mindful of who's licensed on vehicles and who isn't. I had to take special licensing to get my motorcycle license. Yeah, me too. Yeah, that's true. you know, to me matters, you know, and it, but it's, what's interesting is now with the e-bikes and e-scooters and all this sort of stuff, you don't need a license for them. And I wish in some ways we had a little bit of something that made people more accountable because it's even hard to tell the difference between a motorcycle and an e-bike in certain cases. there are things that are going down the Miwasin Valley trails that look suspiciously like motorcycles and they're not. And then there's me and my little dual sport tooting around the city, you know, being all licensed and all that sort of stuff, you know, and it's just, it kind of, kind of does drive me a bit bat bat crazy there in the sense that you really want to make sure that people are, first of all, respecting pedestrians, respecting those with mobility issues, It's tough enough to be navigating on the streets as is, never mind all of these different multimodal devices that are out there. And it's not just e-scooters and e-bikes. It's like skateboards with remote control features and people on essentially long boards that look like surfboards and they're floating through and all this sort of stuff.
SPEAKER_02:And the uniwheel things.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, the uniwheel things. I mean, just be really mindful that the street isn't yours. Oh, of course it is. Of course it's there. It's a shared thing. Yeah, no, I know. You have special speed in that. So be extra considerate of those around you, not less considerate in demanding the road. But the other way around, I've seen some pretty crazy things in the last little while as I've been actually motorcycling and watching and observing the sides to it. And with Broadway Bridge closed down, you know, there are extra compacting of other, you know, lanes and such. Just be mindful. Christina, I know you have more to say on that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I do. I do have more to say about that. There's... there's the whole concept of being mindful and you talk about being licensed to be, uh, to operate a motorcycle. And, uh, What I'm seeing right now is people are flying drones and you have to be licensed to fly one of those. In fact, it goes under federal regulation. And in order to fly in Saskatoon, for example, you have to get permission from the city of Saskatoon and show your federal license because I'm a licensed drone pilot. You have to show them this license and say, hey, guys, yeah, I can fly. May I have permission? And they'll likely say no Unless you have a really good reason for it. So there's that. And here's something else that's been shocking me the last few nights that I'm hearing. Fireworks. What the hell, everybody? I mean, just out of respect for the firefighters and the people who are coming from the northern regions and dealing with severe wildfires, lay off the fireworks. I'm sorry that I'm sort of swearing on the air here, but what the hell? Like, back right off that stuff. That just
SPEAKER_03:infuriates me. Well, and we're in dry times. It's not like as if that can't be a cause for fires right now it is high risk high high high risk yeah
SPEAKER_02:but no they're they're just popping off like crazy and you can hear all these you know whatever guys you know squealing their tires which leads me into my eighth street rant can i do it yes
SPEAKER_03:you've got two minutes
SPEAKER_02:dear city of saskatoon you happily will ticket us for inadvertently driving a little bit too fast through a school zone and will have to pay that$300 ticket or whatever it is when we get booted for that, please set up some regulatory barriers or whatever to stop the vehicles on A Street and 22nd Street from blaring their freaking engines and schooling around and driving as loud as they possibly can, making living close to a major thoroughfare agony through the summer days. It's awful and it's getting worse, Lenore.
SPEAKER_03:So I'm going to pick up on your rant because I don't live that far from 22nd Street because I'm in Caswell. So you've got a street. I've got 22nd Street. They're not a while. I have never seen such a car culture as this year on 8th Street when I was driving. I had to drive there on a Friday night. Sadly, to deposit a check because the RBC will not take deposits downtown at night because of people on the streets. Yeah. So we've got one minute left. I'm just going to say this. It's like, you know, there's another there's another group of culture. Please be mindful that you're not the only culture in town.
SPEAKER_02:They're not going to. And the guy that drives in front of my condo building at 724 every morning is having his freaking engine as loud as he possibly can because he knows he can't. Like, what is that? Why don't they get ticketed? for sound whatever.
SPEAKER_03:Well, and there is. There is an actual sound noise bylaw to be able to enact
SPEAKER_02:that. Oh, but they won't enforce that. But heaven forbid that you go, you know, 36 in the school zone and, you know, you've got to pay big time. Anyway, I'm done. I know. Well, here we are. Okay.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, for sure. Thanks, everybody, for tuning in to Civically Speaking here. The first week of June in Saskatoon, CFCR 90.5 FM, Christina Chernesky and myself, Lenora Swiston, here on Civically Speaking. Come back next week. We'll be here with more news and who knows who might jump in that time. All right. Take care, everyone.
