Parks Canada slashed fire budget before devastating Jasper wildfire

RCMP wildfire Jasper
RCMP wildfire Jasper Courtesy Trina Pelland Taylor
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Parks Canada cut its wildfire risk reduction budget by 23% the year before a devastating blaze destroyed 358 buildings in Jasper, and left 40% of residents homeless, according to an internal report.

Blacklock's Reporter says despite claims of investing millions in fire preparedness, the agency reduced its national funding for wildfire mitigation from $4.42 million to $3.4 million with no explanation.

“Parks Canada uses a variety of tools and strategies including prescribed fires, forest thinning and the creation of community fire guards to reduce the impact of wildfire and protect the public, communities and infrastructure,” managers wrote in an October 1 Briefing Book.

“Millions of dollars have been invested,” said the document.

The agency has withheld year-over-year figures for Jasper National Park under the Access To Information Act.

Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, testifying at the Senate energy and environment committee on October 1, praised Parks Canada’s wildfire preparedness.

“The Government of Canada has invested in Jasper National Park for wildfire risk reduction,” he said.

“Parks Canada, the municipality of Jasper and indigenous partners have worked together for almost 30 years to reduce known wildfire risks in Jasper National Park and around the town, making it one of the most fire prepared and resilient communities in Canada,."

He did not mention the 23% budget cut.

Managers attributed the Jasper fire to a lightning strike. However, before the blaze, Parks Canada acknowledged thousands of hectares of dead trees remained standing in Jasper due to a Mountain Pine Beetle infestation.

“Parks Canada recognizes wildfires are a natural occurrence and play an essential role in ecosystems within our administered lands,” stated the Briefing Book.

“Since wildfires naturally remove fuels in forests, historical suppression of wildfires by Parks Canada leads to denser forests which burn more intensely.”

In an Inquiry Of Ministry tabled November 7 in the Commons, Parks Canada reported 154,000 acres of dead pine in Jasper National Park in 2023, the year before the wildfire.

However, the agency did not disclose how many acres had been cleared through cutting or controlled burns to reduce fire risk.

Conservative MP Arnold Viersen (Peace River-Westlock, Alta.) requested the data, asking, “How many hectares of dead pine were left standing in Jasper National Park?”

The agency did not provide an answer.

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