A picture taken in 2022 of Sweetgrass First Nation’s Lyrik Albert presenting her gold medal to Mia Joyea of Whitecap Dakota First Nation. (Submitted photo/Lance Albert)

By Nigel Maxwell

Public safety

Air quality concerns forces BATC to withdraw from Tony Cote Summer Games

Aug 7, 2024 | 2:22 PM

Citing concerns with air quality, and the potential to degrade, the Battlefords Agency Tribal Council Executive Council has advised their athletes will not be attending this month’s Tony Cote Summer Games in La Ronge.

A statement was posted on Tuesday to the BATC’s Facebook group.

“The first priority is the health and safety of our youth, chaperones and volunteers,” they said.

Executice Council went on to apologize for any inconvenience and encouraged people with questions to reach out to their community sports representative.

As of Wednesday, there were 85 actives fires in the province and the majority are burning north of Prince Albert National Park.

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Environment Canada has issued an air quality advisory for the La Ronge region, noting wildfire smoke is causing or expected to cause very poor air quality and reduced visibility.

“Air quality and visibility due to wildfire smoke can fluctuate over short distances and can vary considerably from hour to hour. During heavy smoke conditions, everyone is at risk regardless of their age or health,” the statement explained.

People more likely to be impacted by wildfire smoke such as seniors, pregnant women and pregnant people, people who smoke, infants and young children, people who work outdoors, people involved in strenuous outdoor exercise and people with an existing illness or chronic health condition, are encouraged to avoid strenuous activities outdoors.

The Tony Cote Summer Games are scheduled to start on Aug. 10.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On X: @nigelmaxwell