Alberta spars with feds over Jasper rebuild, six months after wildfire

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OTTAWA — A simmering dispute over the reconstruction of the fire-ravaged resort town of Jasper, Alta., spilled into public view this week after Alberta housing minister Jason Nixon fired off a letter accusing both federal and local officials of stalling progress in housing displaced residents.

“Despite our best efforts to work in good faith, we have encountered numerous roadblocks and delays from both the Municipality of Jasper and Parks Canada,” wrote Nixon in a statement posted to social media late last Friday night.

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Nixon’s statement was quickly shared by Premier Danielle Smith, who added, “This is unacceptable.”

Nixon says bureaucrats have stonewalled the province’s $112-million plan to roll out 250 modular single-family homes to the area, pushing high-density housing that will take much longer to build out.

He also claims that officials scaled back the amount of land promised for housing Jasperites by almost half. Roughly one-third of the town was destroyed in the wildfire that started on July 22.

Nixon told the National Post on Monday that time is of the essence, with many locals still holed up in hotels and other precarious accommodations, some well outside of the town, six months after the blaze.

“The reality is that multi-family homes will take upwards of two years to build in this location, and that just isn’t going to cut it,” said Nixon.

Nixon says that there is currently only enough land available for around eight homes.

Meanwhile, more than 600 local families have applied for interim housing, according to the municipality.

But local officials say Nixon doesn’t have all the details right.

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Jasper director of recovery Michael Fark said that a three-hectare lot outside of town limits was briefly scouted for interim housing, but quickly deemed unfit due to contamination from a nearby landfill.

“The environmental assessment showed (the lot) did not meet provincial standards for residential housing… That was clearly communicated to our counterparts with the government of Alberta,” Fark said.

“Why the minister doesn’t understand the distinction, I can’t speak to.”

Parks Canada corroborated Fark’s version of the events in an email to the National Post, adding that critical infrastructure surrounding the townsite further reduces the amount of area suitable for residential development.

Fark also said that the municipality’s issue isn’t with the modular units themselves, but with land use conditions the province is insisting on.

“We have no objection to single, detached units,” said Fark. “The challenge is around the requirement that those units be placed on permanent, individually titled and subdivided lots.”

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Fark said the amount of land attached to such lots is much higher than the amount required for interim housing, designed for three to five years of use.

Jasper has an atypical governance structure as a specialized municipality inside a protected national park. Expanding the town’s boundaries would require an act of Parliament.

The town’s special status also gives Parks Canada and, by extension, the Environment ministry, a role in its rebuild.

Fark said the federal government isn’t totally blameless, pointing to a lack of political leadership on the Jasper file.

Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault was appointed lead minister for the Jasper recovery in October, but relinquished these duties one month later, after stepping aside from cabinet due to an unrelated scandal involving shifting claims to Indigenous heritage.

Boissonnault’s office declined to comment on the situation in Jasper.

“We have reached out to the federal government on a number of occasions, and we are requesting that a new lead minister is appointed,” said Fark.

Boissonnault’s departure makes Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, the minister responsible for national parks, the federal government’s de facto point man on Jasper.

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Guilbeault said on Wednesday that any delay in re-housing Jasperites falls at the feet of Alberta.

“If the provincial government’s first instinct was to collaborate instead of politicizing this disaster, as they have done at nearly every opportunity since the catastrophic fire last summer, we could move faster,” said Guilbeault in a statement to the National Post.

A source in the federal government, not authorized to speak publicly on the situation, said that provincial officials also dragged their feet on formally requesting federal disaster relief funding.

“Inexplicably, Alberta did not request these (funds) until early December,” said the source, adding that the request is still being expedited.

Guilbeault told reporters on Thursday that he’s open to the idea of naming a new lead for the Jasper recovery, but added that the decision is soon-departing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s to make.

“He’s still the prime minister,” said Guilbeault.

The Prime Minister’s Office declined to say whether a new ministerial lead will be appointed.

National Post
rmohamed@postmedia.com

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