Residents who lost homes to Sask. wildfires meet with law firm about class-action suit against province

Alexander Quon · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 08, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

A Saskatoon instrumentality steadfast is weighing whether to motorboat a class-action suit against the Saskatchewan authorities implicit however the state responded to bluish wildfires.

Chad Eggerman, founding spouse at Procido LLP, told CBC News that residents who mislaid everything to the fires person travel guardant to stock their stories.

Eggerman said helium was expecting 5 oregon six radical to be a webinar connected Monday meant to provide information astir the class-action process. Instead, much than 100 radical showed up.

"I knew instantly that determination was radical that were frustrated, that had suffered losses and damages. And I deliberation much importantly, cipher was listening to them," Eggerman said successful an interrogation connected Monday aft the webinar.

Residents from East Trout Lake and the Northern Village of Denare Beach successful Saskatchewan person publically complained astir the deficiency of effect from the provincial authorities arsenic wildfires threatened their homes.

One household from East Trout Lake, located astir 250 kilometres northeast of Saskatoon, said they repeatedly warned officials astir the approaching wildfire, but were brushed disconnected successful the days earlier it tore done their location and community.

Residents of Denare Beach, located adjacent to the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, person said they received nary assistance from the provincial government, contempt precocious winds, adust upwind and the Wolf occurrence moving successful fast. More than 200 homes were destroyed.

Rhonda Werbicki mislaid her location successful that blaze and attended the webinar connected Monday.

Werbicki said she's funny successful the class-action due to the fact that she wants to marque definite this ne'er happens again.

"Nobody truly wants to spell to court, especially on this benignant of a scale. But I bash deliberation that immoderate wrongdoings were done, and I bash deliberation that we request answers, and I bash deliberation that our state needs to beryllium held accountable," Werbicki said.

WATCH| Sask. assemblage members travel location to wildfire devastation: 

Rebecca McCrimmon, who mislaid her location and store successful Denare Beach, said she's "100 per cent" supportive of the people action.

"Why didn't they fto idiosyncratic helps america to commencement with and near america to conscionable burn?" McCrimmon said.

The Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency has antecedently said each six of the wildfires successful the state astatine the clip received "multiple levels of response" including aerial tankers, firefighting crews and helicopter support.

Just the start

Eggerman stressed that the instrumentality steadfast is conscionable astatine the commencement of what could beryllium a years-long oregon decades-long process.

Class-action lawsuits are costly and tin instrumentality a batch of time, Eggerman said. They're besides often taken connected contingency, meaning there's nary warrant of outgo for the instrumentality firm.

Part of what his steadfast is debating is whether it's equipped to woody with a lengthy, protracted ineligible battle, Eggerman said.

It's besides weighing whether determination are capable radical who could suffice arsenic a class. Eggerman said the effect has made it wide that galore radical consciousness aggrieved with the province's handling of the wildfires.

"There's surely a radical that suffered a akin harm oregon nonaccomplishment successful that 3.5-million acre country wherever the fires person burned," helium said.

Now, the firm needs to place a imaginable typical plaintiff, idiosyncratic capable to correspond the interests of that full class.

If Procido LLC does record a class-action, it would request to get the proposed people certified by the court, Eggerman said. 

The steadfast plans to inform imaginable clients connected whether it volition determination guardant with the suit by July 18.

Eggerman said helium wants to marque definite the radical who consciousness they were near down by the province now person determination to turn.

"I'm hopeful that there's immoderate affirmative alteration present successful the consciousness that resources are enactment successful spot to woody with a changing clime and that much importantly nationalist spot and backstage spot and radical are protected successful bluish Saskatchewan," Eggerman said.