The wildfire that nearly destroyed Jasper last year should’ve been a wake-up call. Instead, the official After-Action Review became a political fire blanket, smothering federal accountability and pointing fingers in the wrong direction.

Right from the jump, the consultants behind the report claim:

“This is not about assigning blame.”

Sure. That’s why the Alberta government gets called out for “creating complexity,” while the federal government — who had full jurisdiction inside Jasper National Park — gets a soft pat on the back for coordinating nicely.

Let’s talk about who actually wrote this thing.

The review was commissioned by the Municipality of Jasper, but it was produced by two outside consulting firms:

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1. Satya Consulting – a firm that literally brands itself around DEI.

Their homepage reads: “Wanting to transform the justice, diversity, equity, and inclusion culture of your organization? We offer an extensive range of live online or in-person diversity, equity and inclusion training, and education programs, customized to your workplace and culture" 

Now look, if you want to run a conference on inclusive communication strategies, go nuts. But if your town is burning to the ground, I don’t care how many land acknowledgements are in your evacuation plan — I care if the hoses work.

Satya’s approach to crisis management is rooted in identity politics and social justice jargon, not operational efficiency. It shows.

2. Respond Planning – the second firm involved, and at least more grounded.

They do legitimate emergency planning and seem to focus on logistics. OK fine.

And now for what actually happened.

This fire began in Jasper National Park. That made Parks Canada — the feds — entirely responsible for the initial fire management.

From Alberta’s official response:

“Importantly, this wildfire began within Jasper National Park, a federally managed area under the jurisdiction of Parks Canada. As such, the initial response and fire management fell solely under federal control.”

What did Ottawa do with that control?

• Let pine beetle–damaged trees stack up into a massive, predictable fuel load.

• Failed to clear it.

• Installed non-standard fire hydrants — the kind that don’t work with modern hoses.

• Turned away private firefighting contractors.

• Declined Alberta’s early offers of help.

And when the situation spiralled? Alberta stepped in — not to take over, because they couldn’t, but to help.

“Alberta Wildfire had no part in the management of the wildfire until after the fire breached the town,” the province said. “Previous to that, Alberta Wildfire was providing personnel and equipment as requested.”

Let’s be clear on what that “support” looked like:

• Alberta Wildfire deployed crews from Day 1.

• Municipal firefighters from across the province worked overnight to save homes.

• Search and rescue teams evacuated residents.

• Health and housing systems moved vulnerable people to safety.

• Social services, mental health support, evacuation centres.

• $181 million in total support—matching federal disaster funds, covering evacuation payments, rebuilding seniors' housing, even helping the local food bank.

And what does the report say in return?

“Provincial involvement added complexity to the response… sought to exercise decision-making authority.”

Translation? Alberta tried too hard to help.

That’s not just incompetence. That’s territorial defensiveness from a federal agency that knew it was losing control and hated where the help was coming from: Alberta.

Even the Municipality of Jasper had to walk the report back after the media ran wild with anti-Alberta headlines. Their media release said:

“The review was not designed or intended to assess the independent actions of the Province of Alberta… These areas are outside the Municipality’s jurisdiction and fall beyond the scope of the review.”

And:

“We take exception to the politicization of the After-Action Review… Alberta Wildfire, AEMA, and other provincial agencies provided critical support that helped protect lives and infrastructure.”

Public Safety Minister Mike Ellis put it plainly:

“Misrepresentation of the findings by some media outlets was not only misleading but also divisive.”

And here’s Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith's final word:

“It is disheartening to see a report and the media response… that so clearly overlooks the substantial, coordinated efforts undertaken by the Alberta government… These contributions are either minimized or ignored entirely.”

“Incident reports help us learn to improve, and we hope all jurisdictions take a closer look at their own deficiencies rather than blame others.”

Exactly.

This wasn’t a learning document. It was a political smokescreen. One written by consultants more focused on equity narratives than emergency outcomes. One that sidestepped federal mismanagement, and threw shade at the only people who showed up to actually fix the mess.

So no—don’t tell me this isn’t about blame.

It is. It’s just blaming the wrong people.