St. John’s, NL (April 23, 2025) – Pleaman Forsey, PC Shadow Minister for Forestry and Agriculture and MHA for Exploits, today criticized the Liberal government for failing to repair the province’s fifth water bomber in time for the upcoming forest fire season.

The water bomber has been out of service since 2018 when it was damaged. While the tender to repair the aircraft has finally been awarded, officials in the Department of Fish, Forestry, and Agriculture confirmed last week during Estimates that the water bomber will not return to service until 2026.

“The Liberal government has left the province without a fifth water bomber for seven years. The Liberals have failed to take action to fix this aircraft and now the province is facing another fire season without adequate resources,” said Forsey.

Forsey noted that the Liberals did not decide to repair the water bomber until 2023, adding they wasted time flip-flopping between thinking about fixing it, selling it, and then fixing it again.

“The Liberals wasted five years before deciding to repair the damaged water bomber. Now, two more years later, they finally awarded a contract to fix it. Why did it take seven years for the Liberals to realize the importance of repairing the water bomber and returning it to service?” asked Forsey.

“If the Liberals truly had the safety of our province in mind, they would have acted immediately and the water bomber could have been in service today,” concluded Forsey.