Rebel News’ Sheila Gunn Reid and Kian Simone have been engaged in boots-on-the-ground journalism to bring you the truth about the factors that contributed to the tragedy that unfolded when a wildfire ripped though Jasper, Alberta, including asking critical questions about whether the federal government failed in its duty to maintain forests and mitigate wildfire risks.

Our own Sydney Fizzard also spoke with folks at a Calgary reception centre that was set up to support people displaced by the fires with food and shelter as firefighters continued to battle to save their town. We also had the opportunity to be joined by Premier Danielle Smith for an exclusive interview to discuss the fire in Jasper.

Premier Smith discussed Liberal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault’s assertions that forest management around Jasper prior to the fire was 'well done’ despite the fact that his government failed to act on its own Jasper Park management plan to mitigate the fuel load inside of Jasper National Park.

We also asked about the province of Alberta’s efforts to mitigate pine beetle fuel loads in provincially-managed lands and to ensure that responsible forest management practices are being implemented to prevent or at least reduce the likelihood of fires around populated areas growing as rapidly as witnessed in Jasper.

As many are still repeating the misinformation that Premier Smith cut the firefighting budget in Alberta, we also confirmed the details of the increase budget that Smith gave to Alberta’s Minister of Forestry and Parks in addition to questioning the origin and unbridled spread of the fund-cutting myth.

Finally, while national parks forest management falls under the federal government's jurisdiction, Albertans are the ones suffering, so we asked Premier Smith whether she feels that the province will need to intervene more substantially in federal parks management to prevent a tragedy like this from happening again.