SASKATOON — Matthew Maurer is expecting a quieter summer tourism season in northern Saskatchewan, as business owners and residents in communities impacted by the nearly month-long wildfires begin their trip back home after being forced to evacuate.
Maurer, the president of the La Ronge & District Chamber of Commerce, owns Nikik Digital Solutions, a marketing company based in La Ronge that aims to promote northern Saskatchewan businesses and organizations, especially those involved in tourism.
The district includes the communities of La Ronge, Air Ronge and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. The volunteer-only leadership has been advocating to make northern communities an attractive and competitive place to do business.
He said roads to La Ronge are now open and not as bad as they were when people were evacuating, as those displaced by the wildfires begin to return. More than 10,000 residents of Northern Saskatchewan were forced to evacuate as firefighters and other first responders attempted to contain the fires.
Maurer, however, said they expect to see worse conditions when they return, with grocery stores needing to restock and some establishments that offer basic services burned down. He thanked business owners who stayed to help in any way they could.
“We have some who stuck around to provide essential services, but they are burned out. They are exhausted and need to rest now. They have already worked tirelessly with no income to help out,” said Maurer during a joint press conference on Wednesday.
“That’s what business owners do. We want to support our communities, and that’s what these small business owners were doing — supporting the firefighters, the essential workers — and now they’re exhausted.”
Saskatchewan NDP MLAs Don McBean (Saskatoon Chief Mistawasis) and Aleana Young (Regina Â鶹´«Ã½AV Albert) joined Maurer in facing local reporters. McBean is the shadow minister for tourism, while Young is the shadow minister for jobs and the economy.
Maurer said they expect recovery to be slow, and it will take time before things return to normal. He added that La Ronge has been a popular summertime destination, with communities bustling with activity.
“If you’ve been to La Ronge in the summertime, you see that it is busy. There are people everywhere, and it’s a vibrant community. Everybody is happy, laughing, ready to go to the lake to have fun,” he said.
“I know when we get home, we’re going to expect to see things slow, and it will be quiet, because even if the fires are not an immediate threat to the community right now, people still have that fear.”
Maurer added that an air of uncertainty hovers over northern communities, as people have rescheduled or cancelled their summer tours or made other holiday plans elsewhere.
“They are not sure what is going to happen in the North. Being shut down for even just one week is hugely devastating to the economy of La Ronge. This has happened before, in 2015. Businesses had to go into unnecessary debt,” said Maurer.
“We had lost and wasted inventory. Some businesses were not able to recover from it. It’s hugely devastating to our economy, to our businesses, to our people, and everyone affected in northern Saskatchewan, and we can’t let that happen again.”
