Ex-MP tells ministers NWT wildfire approach is ’embarrassment’

“A community is going to burn. Whether it’s our community, Whatì or Jean Marie, some place is going to burn, but we don’t do anything until the fire is at our doorstep.”

Freed from the diplomatic shackles of being the Northwest Territories’ MP, Fort Providence resident Michael McLeod delivered an extraordinary critique of the territory’s firefighting to the faces of territorial ministers in video footage that circulated online on Tuesday.

Becoming increasingly animated as he addressed the room at Hay River’s evacuation centre, McLeod set out the view that not enough is done to address the NWT’s wildfires until it’s too late.

Though not all of his remarks were captured clearly, McLeod – who was the NWT’s Liberal MP from 2015 until this year’s election – could be heard asking Premier RJ Simpson: “Will you consider turning back the responsibility for firefighting in the Northwest Territories to the federal government so they will help us?”

“You guys are providing us nothing to prevent fires, Nothing,” he continued.

“Not one drop of fire retardant in my community, not one water bomber dropped a load yet. That’s an embarrassment. You can’t do it. It’s obvious you can’t do it.

“Will you consider putting the money back, devolving it back to the federal government so they can look after our safety?”

Simpson and communities minister Vince McKay, an experienced firefighter, are seen standing opposite McLeod across the room and listening as he speaks. Dehcho MLA Sheryl Yakeleya was also present.

McLeod was in territorial politics before his election to Parliament in 2015. He too represented the Dehcho district, which includes his hometown of Fort Providence, from 1999 until 2011. He spent a year of that time as the NWT’s environment minister, a role that carries responsibility for fighting wildfires.

A series of videos captured McLeod’s statements from multiple angles. In one, he appears to angrily call for at least one resignation. McKay, responding, says he has respect for McLeod and hears his frustration.

“It’s not easy. It’s frustrating,” McKay told the packed room, alluding to his own experiences as an evacuee from Hay River. McLeod, though, appeared to again call on McKay to resign while the minister spoke. (McKay has responsibility for territorial support of communities facing disasters. Jay Macdonald is the minister responsible for NWT wildfire management.)

Fire SS014, which moved to within a kilometre of Fort Providence and triggered an evacuation order over the weekend, has been burning for weeks.

The fire, which was caused by lightning, started on July 7 according to NWT Fire’s records. For more than a month, the wildfire agency told residents that SS014 – which developed about 25 km northwest of Fort Providence – did not pose a threat in part because “there are swamps and other barriers to fire spread to the south.”

That messaging held until August 29, when it was replaced by a statement that Fort Providence was not “at immediate threat.”

On August 30, the hamlet moved to evacuation alert and NWT Fire said SS014 had displayed “extraordinary growth,” crossing Highway 3 and moving closer to the community. An evacuation order followed a day later.

‘We will not put our people at risk’

McLeod’s conviction that wildfires are not being properly fought, and homes are being placed in danger as a result, is one some residents share.

It was a concern frequently expressed in 2023, when 70 percent of the territory’s population was under an evacuation order at least once.

However, it’s a viewpoint that people paid to manage wildfires say isn’t entirely fair and doesn’t represent the full picture.

More: Inside the NWT’s 2023 wildfire decision-making

Experts in wildfire management have previously told Cabin Radio that trying to attack every fire the moment it starts is not necessarily a sound strategy in the long run because it can leave huge quantities of unburned fuel untouched for years or decades, inviting a colossal future tragedy.

That explanation sometimes leaves residents cold because they point to the tragedies that have occurred anyway on their doorstep in recent years. But in the shorter term, the practical reality is that there can be too many fires for someone to be assigned to fight every one. Resources only go so far.

Mike Westwick, who is NWT Fire’s manager of wildfire prevention and mitigation as well as a near-daily spokesperson on operational matters each fire season, addressed some of the concern about water bombers late on Tuesday evening.

Westwick said conditions, not tactics, are the reason aircraft haven’t been seen over the hamlet as fire behaviour grew more extreme.

“Airtankers have been unable to fly missions due to visibility issues, which compromise the safety of both air and ground crews. The first priority in emergency management is human life. That includes firefighters and air crews,” Westwick wrote in response to questions from Cabin Radio.

“We will not put our people at unreasonable risk in any operation. We bring people home safe at the end of the day – that is our first job,” Westwick stated.

“Furthermore, there are rules about visibility minimums which must be followed. Airtankers have higher visibility minimums than helicopters given the extraordinarily challenging work they do – flying very low to the ground and dropping water or fire retardant. We have been very transparent about these visibility limitations in every update we have provided.”

McLeod could not be immediately reached for comment about his remarks on Tuesday evening. Simpson and his cabinet have been approached for comment through cabinet communications.

“We know this is an extremely stressful time. We know people want to see the big machines out there. We want to have them out there too – desperately,” Westwick wrote.

“We have tried to dispatch them on many occasions, but visibility has been so terrible over the last week, we have been almost uniformly unsuccessful in finding openings.

“We again cannot, and will not, under any circumstances, put our people at unreasonable risk. It’s a matter of principle.”