In February of this year, one official wrote, “At what point do we make the organizational decision to cancel...prescribed burns in Western Canada?” It goes on to say, “political perception may become more important than actual prescription windows.” This was not a discussion about mechanical removal. We know this because, since then, more emails have been released, which show that another senior official responded to that email and stated, “I hope we don't get into a blanket shutdown.” They went on to say, “It is critical to continue those kind of burns, it is how they maintain the CFB [community fuel break], and when they fall behind, it is very difficult to catch up”. It wasn't just Conservatives raising concerns with this email; it was Parks Canada's very own officials.
Chair, when we found out that Minister Guilbeault was briefed multiple times on the risk of fire leading up to the Jasper wildfire, if this wasn't enough, Canadians were shocked to hear at this committee that the environment minister's department turned away dozens of firefighters who arrived on site to help. I don't care where these firefighters came from. If a professional fire crew shows up to fight a fire, to save a town and to save someone's house, you'd better let them in, full stop. The Government of Alberta also revealed that the federal government prevented them from making decisions by not allowing the province to be part of a unified command.
Today, we heard some of the most damning testimony. We heard that professional foresters have been warning the Liberal government, since 2017, that a devastating fire in Jasper was not a matter of “if”, but “when”. The Liberals prevent this investigation from being extended. They are proving that they're nothing more than fake environmentalists, and they are covering up the truth that is waiting to come out. Canadians deserve answers.
Thank you, Chair.