In a virtual news conference, Canada’s Environment Minister, Steven Guilbeault, alongside Parks Canada officials, defended their handling of forest fires in Jasper National Park, claiming that prescribed burns have been conducted for years, but failed to provide specifics on frequency, the number of burns in the past five years, or the total area covered.
A long-standing and well-known pine beetle infestation has turned many trees into potential fuel for fires. Despite this, former Environment Minister Catherine McKenna’s 2017 comments on maintaining “ecological integrity” suggested a lack of adequate prescribed burns.
On Monday, Parks Canada CEO Ron Hallman stated that prescribed burns have been a practice in federal parks since 1996, and specifically in Jasper for at least the past seven years. However, when pressed for details on the scope and frequency of these burns over the vast 11,000 square kilometers of Jasper, he remained vague.
During Monday’s announcement, Guilbeault and Hallman were on the defensive in regards to Parks Canada’s fire management practices. Guilbeault dismissed accusations of insufficient preparation, blaming the forest fire on climate change, despite data showing a decline in the percentage of the global surface area burned over the past century.
“As we are seeing, in Canada and all around the world, we are seeing more and more aggressive forest fires, and this is what we were faced with,” Guilbeault stated.
Canada experienced more forest fires in 2023 than in any year over the past four decades, although 2020 had the lowest number in the same period.
Hallman insisted that Parks Canada did all it could to minimize the fire’s impact, which destroyed approximately 358 structures (30%) in Jasper. “We have done everything we reasonably could have done to reduce fire risk over many years and to be prepared for what may come,” he said.
Hallman also rebuffed claims that Parks Canada prioritizes nature over people. “I reject the premise of the question that Parks Canada puts nature before people. That’s a ridiculous statement, and one that I find offensive,” he stated.
