Canadian Red Cross, Salvation Army, and St. John Ambulance sign agreement with Saskatchewan government

From the Regina Leader-Post

Should an emergency situation arise or natural disaster occur, Saskatchewan has a new streamlined plan in place to handle it.

Donna Harpauer, minister of Social Services, announced Monday that the province has entered into formal agreements with the Canadian Red Cross, Salvation Army and St. John Ambulance to assist in providing emergency programs.

"I think it's very important to have a formal agreement with them to recognize them (and) to show respect for the services they do," said Harpauer.

The need to formalize things became apparent after last year's northern forest fires forced the evacuation of northern residents, she explained.

"It was the largest evacuation of the north that our province ever had -- and even though it was chaotic -- I toured the evacuation sites where we were housing the evacuees," said Harpauer. "All the organizations were very organized in looking after everything the people needed."