Federal minister Olszewski to visit Jasper this week to discuss wildfire recovery
There will be one-year commemoration events in Jasper throughout the week.
'This is a tragic event that left a scar, left its mark, not only on the national park and on the town, but on the residents of Jasper as well,' Olszewski said during a press availability Friday.
She said she will have 'further discussions as well with respect to the rebuilding of Jasper and all of its components.' She highlighted hotel owners as one of the groups she wants to meet when she heads to the Rockies.
Olszewski is the lone Alberta MP in the federal Liberal cabinet. She represents the riding of Edmonton Centre.
But Olszewski reserved comment on a report commissioned by the Municipality of Jasper that criticized the province for its response to the fire. The report stated that the Alberta government 'created political challenges' when it came to wildfire response. Premier Danielle Smith demanded Friday that Jasper officials apologize for the report.
'I will have more to say about it in the coming days,' said Olszewski, who stressed that while the report was commissioned by the town, it was produced by an independent body.
As Olszewski will be in Jasper to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the wildfire, she has her eye on yet another hectic summer wildfire season nationwide. As of Friday, there were 561 active wildfires burning across the country. So far in 2025, there have been about 3,000 wildfires that have sparked across the country, and a total of 5.5 million hectares have burned. Firefighting help has been brought in from Mexico, Costa Rica, the United States, New Zealand, Australia and Chile to help battle wildfires.
In Alberta, there have been a total of 802 wildfires so far, with 62 of them still active. More than 670,000 hectares have burned.
And while much of Alberta has experienced rainy, cool conditions for the past couple of days, the forecast for most of Western Canada is for the rest of summer to be hotter and dryer than normal.
'Wildfire activity is expected to increase, and persist to well above average conditions across much of Western Canada, with the highest fire danger in southern British Columbia,' said Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Tim Hodgson.
'Dry conditions are expected to intensify in the coming weeks, particularly in the west and the north.'
He said that insured costs from wildfire damage in 2024 totaled $8.5 billion across Canada.
The feds announced Friday that they have pledged $11.7 million to create a new Wildfire Resilience Consortium of Canada, which will bring together domestic governments, get international input and look at innovative ways that wildfires can be tackled in years to come. It will also look to embrace Indigenous knowledge when it comes to forest management and wildfire mitigation.
'We are here for you now, and we'll be here for you when it's time to return home, and time to rebuild,' said Olszewski.
Related
Premier Smith demands apology from Jasper for critical wildfire report
'So many people crying': Jasper fire deputy chief reflects on blaze, recovery
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