The wildfire smoke has reached all the way to Ottawa-Gatineau according to satellite imagery, so you getting a bit of it in Regina doesn't surprise me at all. I remember when the skies over Regina went weird because of ash from Mount St. Helens passing over our heads when I was a teenager.

I don't know if that little bit of historical context matters at all right now.

I'm sorry for your confusion about the rebuild process, and I share it.