Feds say Jasper efforts still a priority after Boissonnault departure

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OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government isn’t yet naming a new point person on Jasper after Alberta MP Randy Boissonnault’s departure from cabinet, but says that rebuilding the fire-ravaged Alberta town remains a top priority.

“Multiple members of our caucus are engaged on the file,” a senior government official told the National Post. “We’ll continue to coordinate recovery efforts with provincial and local officials.”

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Boissonnault, the only Albertan in Trudeau’s cabinet until Wednesday, was named ministerial lead for Jasper in October.

He said at the time that this was an important role for him to take on as the province’s lone federal minister.

“And as the Alberta minister, it’s really important that I’m able to do that work with a number of ministers at the provincial level so we can get the work done,” Boissonnault told reporters in Ottawa.

Boissonnault was put in charge of a cabinet-level working group on Jasper, subsequently overseeing the distribution of more than $20 million of federal aid to the municipality.

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said on Wednesday he was sad to see Boissonnault step away from the role.

“We are disappointed to be losing Minister Boissonnault as federal ministerial lead for Jasper recovery,” wrote Ireland in an email. “He immersed himself in our ongoing challenges and was an engaged, active, and an effective advocate on our behalf.”

The Opposition Conservatives weren’t quite as concerned about the void created by Boissonnault’s departure.

“The Trudeau government was repeatedly warned but allowed Jasper to go up in flames after years of ignoring obvious severe fire risks. After nearly a decade of neglect, it doesn’t matter which Liberal is selected to replace Trudeau’s fake advisor,” said Conservative emergency affairs critic Dane Lloyd on Wednesday.

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Alberta Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver, the province’s lead on Jasper, declined to comment on Boissonnaut’s departure.

The Town of Jasper lost a third of its structures in July after a wildfire that started in nearby federal parkland jumped the Columbia river, forcing some 25,000 local residents to flee the area.

The disaster came after experts warned for years about the possibility of a “catastrophic blaze” in the area, raising several questions about the federal government’s forest management practices, including its failure to remove thousands of pine beetle ravaged dead trees from the area.

The House of Commons set up a committee to investigate the causes of the blaze in September.

Boissonnault’s departure from the cabinet working group on Jasper leaves six remaining members, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, Housing Minister Sean Fraser and Minister for Emergency Preparedness Harjit Sajjan.

Guilbeault is also the minister responsible for Parks Canada.

Liberal officials wouldn’t say what role Boissonnault will have on the Jasper file as a rank-and-file member of the party’s caucus.

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The prime minister said in a Wednesday statement that veterans affairs minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor would temporarily take on Boissonnault’s responsibilities as employment minister and minister responsible for official languages.

Petitpas Taylor’s office told the National Post on Thursday that she won’t be taking on the role of ministerial lead for Jasper.

National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com

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