How the Jasper wildfire became another political weapon

Article content

The massive wildfire in Jasper in July and August continues to simmer with a new working title: Canada’s most divisive disaster.

For two weeks, MPs have insulted each other in meetings of a parliamentary committee on the environment and sustainable development.

The fight is broken down as follows:

The Liberals, Bloc Quebecois and NDP want to blame this tragic event on climate change.

Article content

Conservative MPs want Canadians to know how badly Ottawa has screwed up fire safety and firefighting itself.

The situation is stacked, as one would expect from a liberal-dominated committee. One session had two topics:

“Factors Leading to the Recent Fires in Jasper National Park” and “Profits and Emissions Reduction Efforts in the Canadian Oil and Gas Industry.”

They are not subtle.

Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Steven Guilbeault consistently maintained that Ottawa could not have done better before or during the fire.

For every suggestion that Ottawa was missing, he pointed to climate change as the real culprit. It’s been clear more than once that a big, ugly fire in Alberta is a big boost to its climate agenda.

The focus on climate also distracted from serious questions about Ottawa’s performance as a force in charge of prevention and firefighting.

For example, why was a convoy of firefighters with 20 trucks turned away from the park gate like tourists who can’t afford a pass?

That actually happened.

Article content

Article content

Private firefighter Kristopher Liivam testified that his crew was not there as scheduled. There were discussions with officials. They knew they would be accepted.

But Parks Canada turned firefighters away from a fire.

That was three days after the fire started, when things were getting really dangerous.

Alberta Deputy Premier Mike Ellis, who spoke at the hearing, said in an interview Tuesday that he was “very concerned” to hear about the incident.

“Obviously our position would be that if Alberta had been part of the joint command, we wouldn’t turn anyone away.”

Beyond the firefighter fiasco, the question is why the government froze Alberta.

Ellis testified that he had a good working relationship with his federal colleague Harjit Sajjan. But that didn’t make up for being denied joint command.

Ellis carefully did not mention the name of the federal minister who would have to grant the approval – but everyone knew he was talking about Guilbeault.

Denied any authority, Alberta needed federal approval to bring in helicopters, water bombers, surveillance drones, bulldozers and other equipment.

Article content

The refusal to transfer joint command was both bizarre and rude.

As Ellis noted, Alberta is shouldering most of the cost of fighting the fire. Jasper is in a national park, but despite federal claims, it lies directly in Alberta.

Prime Minister Danielle Smith has set up a cabinet committee to help the city rebuild. That means provincial spending. Ottawa has not complained about this latest incursion into sovereign federal territory.

The hottest point of debate was whether Parks Canada had done enough to rid the nearby forest of highly flammable deadwood of pine beetle infestation.

Guilbeault insisted that prescribed burns over the last decade were the reason 70 percent of Jasper was saved.

He was repeatedly challenged in this regard. There is decades of evidence that Parks Canada hasn’t done enough to get rid of explosive wildfire fuel.

Indigenous people snort derisively at Guilbeault’s suggestion that they are full partners in the planned burns.

Both sides at least agreed on the heroic efforts of firefighters and citizens. They lamented the terrible damage inflicted on the beloved, iconic mountain town.

Albertans have either been to Jasper or want to go there. It’s hard to find people without a valuable memory.

And now, unfortunately, 200 of the 500 Parks Canada employees who lived in the city have lost their homes.

Beyond these sincere feelings, there was no agreement on far-away Parliament Hill. The massive fire that swept the country became another political tool.

Don Braid’s column appears regularly in the Herald

X: @DonBraid

Article content