The former head of Parks Canada received a retirement send-off featuring a Canadian Armed Forces band and former prime minister Jean Chrétien, less than two years after the catastrophic Jasper wildfire burned roughly a third of the Alberta mountain town.

CPC MP Branden Leslie asks Parks Canada's Andrew Campbell about internal Parks Canada emails on prescribed burns:

Do you think it's appropriate that Parks Canada considered great giving greater weight to political perceptions as opposed to the proven science when it comes to… pic.twitter.com/KMN2ZccdHr

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 3, 2024

According to Access to Information records obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, former Parks Canada CEO Ron Hallman was celebrated at an invitation-only March 25 retirement event at the agency’s Gatineau headquarters.

Hallman, who earned $327,000 annually, was Parks Canada’s top executive during the July 2024 Jasper wildfire, which caused an estimated $1.3 billion in damage after the agency failed to clear trees damaged by a pine beetle infestation. 

A Parks Canada scientist who came forward with concerns about the lack of fire mitigation efforts in Jasper was terminated. pic.twitter.com/lJXx83Rpv0

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 23, 2024

Records show Parks Canada booked the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces for Hallman’s farewell and arranged a personal appearance by Chrétien. Employees were also encouraged to submit photographs and “inspiring written contributions” highlighting Hallman’s leadership and accomplishments.

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There was apparently no mention at the event of the Jasper disaster.

Hallman previously rejected suggestions Parks Canada bore responsibility for the scale of the fire.

“The fact is Parks Canada and our partners have done everything we reasonably could have done to reduce fire risk over many years and to be prepared for what may come,” Hallman told reporters following the disaster.

Ken Hodges, a forestry expert who warned Parks Canada 7 years ago about the potential for a catastrophic wildfire in Jasper, testifies that not enough was done and that Parks Canada seemed to be a bunch of know-it-alls ill-equipped to deal with the disaster which lay ahead. pic.twitter.com/EF7Zmu0kDO

— Sheila Gunn Reid (@SheilaGunnReid) October 9, 2024

However, subsequent records obtained by Blacklock’s showed Parks Canada had cut its wildfire preparedness budget by 23% before the Jasper fire while 577,431 acres of dead trees remained standing following a Mountain Pine Beetle infestation.

The Canadian Forest Service later identified the large volume of dead pine as a “key contributing factor” to the wildfire.

Hallman, a former Liberal political aide who worked for Senator Dan Hays and in the ministerial offices of Sheila Copps and David Anderson, also received tributes from Liberal parliamentarians following his retirement.

Liberal MP Steven Guilbeault praised Hallman’s “outstanding leadership” in the House of Commons, while Alberta Senator Karen Sorensen told the Senate that Hallman had “worked tirelessly to conserve Canada’s natural and cultural heritage.”

The retirement celebrations come as Jasper continues rebuilding from one of the most destructive wildfires in Canadian history.