Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe apologized to residents of Denare Beach, who drove eight hours to sit in on Monday’s legislative session, for not visiting their community sooner following a destructive wildfire season during Question Period Monday.

“There was a period time when there should have been a leader of this province in the community of Denare Beach to provide personal support to those families, and I wasn’t there. For that, I apologize to the folks that are here today, and through them, to the other community members in Denare Beach.”

Moe waited 116 days to visit the community, according to the Official Opposition. Despite his shortcomings, Moe says the community can count on his government to help them rebuild.

NDP MLA for Cumberland, Jordan McPhail, thanked Moe for his apology, but added there are other issues at play.

“Half of the water bombers were grounded, and now there are allegations that they spent over $100 million too much on those water bombers,” he explains. “The contract for these bombers was never put out to a public tender. No one else was allowed to bid. Why were so many of our water bombers grounded at such a critical time, and how much did we have to overpay for those planes?”

Public Safety Minister Tim McLeod avoided the question but replied that four new water bombers have been acquired for next year.