Northern wildfires force Sask. courts to shift operations to Saskatoon

The first indication that it's not business as usual at La Ronge docket court is that it's taking place at the provincial courthouse in Saskatoon.

The second indication is that the judge, Murray Pelletier, is on the bench wearing a dress shirt instead of robes. The Crown and defence are appearing remotely on a video screen.

On this weekday morning, Pelletier is casually chatting with staff, offering updates on the status of his grandson, who is back in the northern community and staying at the Mel Hegland Uniplex. There are jokes about who needs to smoke cigarettes when you only need to step outside.

And then, at 9:30 a.m. CST, Pelletier glances at his computer screen and stands to open court.

"Thanks to everyone for attending in these exceptional circumstances," he says to the Crown and defence.

The northern fires are causing week-by-week adjustments in court schedules across the north. For the week of June 3, the fires disrupted sittings at Cumberland House, Black Lake, Deschambault Lake and La Ronge.

On Friday, Pelletier dealt with two docket matters.

The first concerned a trial scheduled for June 6 for a man charged with assault and uttering death threats.

"Due to the exceptional circumstances in La Ronge, the trial is unable to go ahead," he concluded.

It was rescheduled for Aug. 22.

The second matter involved adjusting the release conditions for a man awaiting trial on charges of escaping custody and sexual assault. 

The La Ronge courthouse will remain closed until at least June 13.

While the courts are working remotely, RCMP say officers are staying in the areas affected by fire until it becomes too imminently dangerous for them to be there.

There are officers patrolling and responding to calls for service in all northern Saskatchewan communities, including in the La Ronge and Creighton detachment areas, which have been heavily hit by wildfire.