Ottawa – Harjit S. Sajjan, President of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, issued the following statement:
“Wildfires have been extremely active during the past few days in Alberta and the risk to communities continues to be significant due to the number of fires, and the amount of smoke. As of today, there are approximately 180 active wildfires in Alberta and 60 considered out of control.
Tragically, the historic town of Jasper has been severely impacted by fire and Jasper National Park remains closed. Firefighting efforts are ongoing and the extent of the damage and resulting impacts continue to be assessed.
On July 24, I approved a Request for Federal Assistance from the Government of Alberta to support their efforts to combat wildfires. The Government of Canada is mobilizing available federal resources to assist the province and bring this situation under control. To this end, the Government Operations Centre is working with federal and provincial partners to coordinate the response to the situation in Alberta and mobilize all necessary federal resources.
I have witnessed incredible unity and collaboration over the last few days through the tireless work of federal, provincial and municipal officials as they have coordinated fire suppression activities and evacuated over 17,000 residents and visitors with the assistance of the RCMP. My heart goes out to all the individuals finding themselves impacted by this disastrous fire. The federal government is exploring various ways to provide a helping hand to affected townships and residents.
The Government of Canada will always be there to help in times of need. I would like to thank everyone who is working hard to protect our country and our communities, and who are involved with the successful evacuations, such as the RCMP, firefighters, first responders, local volunteers and Canadian Armed Forces personnel. I would also like to thank my colleague Minister Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and acknowledge the concerted efforts from the team at Parks Canada as we work closely together to support impacted Canadians in the province of Alberta.”