Parks Canada uses wildfire as excuse to conceal records about Jasper fire warnings

Rebel News filed access to information requests with Parks Canada. We wanted to see the warnings the bureaucrats received over the years about the wildfire threat in Jasper. But instead of transparency, Parks Canada hit us with a ridiculous excuse.

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A wildfire recently tore through Jasper National Park, devastating the historic Jasper townsite and consuming about 30% of its residential area. This UNESCO World Heritage site, known for its stunning natural beauty, now lies in charred ruins. But here’s the kicker: this disaster was entirely avoidable, and Parks Canada knew it.

For years, locals have been sounding the alarm about the dangerous situation in Jasper. An unbelievable 40% of the forest has been killed by the mountain pine beetle, leaving behind vast swathes of dry, dead wood — a perfect recipe for a catastrophic wildfire.

And who was responsible for clearing this hazardous fuel? Parks Canada. But instead of taking action, they sat on their hands.

The residents of Hinton and the surrounding areas have been warning anyone who would listen. Even Jasper’s mayor and former Conservative MP Jim Eglinski echoed these concerns, urging Parks Canada to deal with the dead trees before it was too late.

But as is often the case with government agencies, their warnings went unheeded.

It wasn’t just local concerns being brushed aside. Back in 2018, two B.C. researchers, Emile Begin and Ken Hodges, warned that a catastrophic forest fire in Jasper was not just possible — it was inevitable if nothing was done. "It's a matter of when, not if," Begin told CBC’s Radio Active. Yet, despite these dire predictions, Parks Canada did nothing.

And it gets worse. Independent journalists at Blacklock's Reporter revealed that Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault was warned in writing in 2022 that not enough was being done in Jasper to mitigate wildfire risk. So, this wasn’t just a local issue — it was on the radar of the highest levels of government.

And still, nothing was done.

Determined to uncover the truth, I took action. With the support of generous donors through RebelInvestigates.com, we filed access to information requests with Parks Canada to get to the bottom of this negligence. We wanted to see the warnings they received over the years about the wildfire threat in Jasper.

But instead of transparency, Parks Canada hit us with a ridiculous excuse.

They claimed they couldn’t provide the records because of the ongoing wildfire. Really? Are we supposed to believe that the few staffers responsible for finding emails and documents are too busy fighting fires to do their jobs?

This is nothing but a blatant attempt to cover up their incompetence. Parks Canada knows that releasing those records would reveal their failure to act on the warnings they received — warnings that could have saved Jasper from this disaster. And now, the people of Jasper are paying the price for this negligence, including the tragic loss of a firefighter’s life.

But this isn’t just about Jasper. The same experts who warned about Jasper in 2018 are now raising concerns about other mountain communities, like Banff and Canmore.

Will the feds listen this time?

Canada Help Jasper News Analysis Rebel News Exclusive
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  • By Sheila Gunn Reid

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