2025 July

The Provincial Disaster Assistance Program (PDAP) helps Saskatchewan communities recover from natural disasters and assists with damages for uninsurable, essential property.

Your local authority (city, town, First Nation, village, resort village, rural municipality or provincial park) must apply to be approved for PDAP support for your community or its residents. If a local authority has been impacted by wildfires, a PDAP designation is the first step in receiving assistance.

Eligibility

Declaring a local emergency does not make the local government authority eligible for PDAP. For your community to be eligible for PDAP assistance, your local authority must apply to be designated following the processes described below.

A local authority has three options available when it comes to designating:

1. Designate and apply for assistance for both municipal damages and private damages;
2. Designate and apply for assistance for only municipal damages (if there are no private damages); or
3. Designate and apply for assistance for only private damages (no municipal deductible will be required).

PDAP will assist local authorities with extraordinary non-insurable costs, which may include the following:

• Repairing or replacing damaged infrastructure, such as a damaged bridge;
• Costs related to setting up temporary operations while displaced or evacuated;
• Security for evacuated communities; and
• Pre-emptive measures, such as sandbagging, firebreaks, fireguards and sprinklers.

PDAP is not a substitute for private insurance, nor does it provide full compensation for losses.

How to Apply

The local government authority (i.e., the municipality or First Nation band council) should contact PDAP at 1‑866‑632‑4033 if a natural disaster arises or is likely to arise, and PDAP will advise the local authority on how to access the program.

To be designated as an eligible assistance area, the local authority will need to:

1. Ask PDAP officials for a Request for Designation form.
2. Pass a Resolution of Council or Band Council Resolution.
3. Mail PDAP the completed Request for Designation Form and a true, certified copy of a Resolution of Council or Band Council Resolution. Make sure to include:
   1. The dates of the disaster.
   2. Whether the local authority is applying for:
      – Both municipal damages and private damages.
      – Municipal damages only (if there are no private damages).
      – Private damages only (no municipal deductible will be required).
   3. Estimated amount of damage. Estimates over $250,000 require descriptions of damages so an appropriate assessor can be assigned (e.g., three culverts and two bridges washed out).
   4. If the local authority plans to designate for private property damage, include an estimate of the number of residents affected.

The 2025 mill rate return template was recently emailed to all municipalities and is available for download from Mill Rate Returns page.

Compliance with the Effective Tax Rate legislation is assessed through the mill rate return.

To comply with legislation, municipalities must submit the mill rate return by August 15, 2025, using the template provided. Should you have any questions, please email millrate@gov.sk.ca.

The deadline for municipalities to submit a copy of their 2024 financial statements with the auditor’s report and management letter to the ministry was July 1, 2025. (NOTE: Cities have until September 1, 2025, to send a copy of their 2024 financial statements with the auditor’s report and management letter.)

Municipalities that have not already submitted their financial statements should submit them as soon as possible. Failure to do so may affect eligibility to access funding under programs such as the Municipal Revenue Sharing program and the Canada Community-Building Fund.

Municipalities may also pass an extension of time bylaw to extend the submission date by up to 90 days. This bylaw must be passed by July 31, 2025 (October 1, 2025, for cities) and a copy sent to financialstatements@gov.sk.ca.

The Government of Saskatchewan is reminding farmers and producers they can salvage hay along provincial highways.

The program supports agricultural producers, while enhancing road safety by improving visibility of signage, controlling brush and noxious weeds and ensuring safer intersections and curves by maintaining clear sightlines.

Key program dates to remember:

• After July 8, anyone may cut or bale hay without the permission of the nearby landowner or lessee as long as these activities are not already underway.
• All hay bales must be removed from ditches by August 8.

The Ministry of Highways will deliver the mowing program with the assistance of contractors and local rural municipalities. About 45,400 hectares will be mowed in 2025.

For more information, visit the ministry’s Hay Salvage and Ditch Mowing page on saskatchewan.ca.

Summer is the prime season for permit applications for decks and accessory buildings (sheds and garages) over 10 m² (approx. 107 ft²).

To ensure timely review and approval, permit applications should include all relevant information such as plans, structure and framing details, etc.

As per The Construction Codes Act, local authorities may appoint a building official licensed by the province to assist in the review and enforcement of construction standards related to these structures.

The permitting and inspection process assures local authorities and owners that buildings and structures are built to the minimum standards outlined in the National Building Code of Canada.

For more information, contact Building and Technical Standards at 306-787-4113, btstandards@gov.sk.ca or contact your local municipal office.

Potentially eligible municipalities received an email from the Ministry of Environment to gauge interest in attending a Derelict Building Pilot Project educational webinar in July. This webinar is not mandatory but could help determine if this pilot project is right for your community. The deadline to register for the webinar is July 18. If you would like more information about the webinars, please contact derelict.buildings@gov.sk.ca.

Details on the Derelict Building Pilot project will be announced this summer with a planned project intake this fall. Eligible communities will be required to own the derelict property and have a volunteer fire department interested in participating as a training opportunity.

The Ministry of Agriculture’s new web page for livestock emergencies helps producers and first responders prepare for and respond to a livestock emergency. Find information on how to respond to animal disease, rollovers, fires, extreme weather and other emergency events, as well as links to mental health supports, emergency contacts and more.

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