Sask. shows off new water bomber, fails to impress some

The Q400 MRE is designed to be one of the most versatile emergency response aircraft operating in Canada. This is Saskatchewan's newest tool in the fight against forest fires. A Dash 8 Q400 water bomber. And pilots are already training to fly it. Aside from carrying water, it can also transport people and cargo, evacuating them from dangerous fires. But the plane won't be adding to the province's fleet of water bombers, just replacing one aircraft that's set to retire. We may not be adding fleet, but it's adding capacity. Again, it's travelling a lot faster, a lot more efficient, and carrying, like I said, 10,000 litres of water, retardant, loading it in seven minutes at an air tanker base, so it's a very efficient aircraft. The Dash 8 is a land-based plane. Meaning it refills with water or fire retardant at an airport or base, and it can't scoop water from the surface of lakes or rivers. Saskatchewan has six water scoopers, the province replaced one in 2023, but one expert says most of them are old and the province needs more. That water-based bomber fleet is, in my opinion, a ticking time bomb. People living in Saskatchewan's north say buying scoopers makes more sense. But they also want the government to invest in forest fire prevention, not just buying planes. We need to thin trees around communities. We've got to find ways to maintain and continuously... Fire Guards, because we live in the boreal forest, we need to be able to cope with those things. The government says the new planes don't come cheap. This Dash 8, one of four ordered, cost 57 million dollars. The opposition NDP says it's too little, too late. They say the aircraft was months late getting here and totally missed the 2026 wildfire season. Colleen Silverthorne, CBC News, Regina.