OTTAWA,
ON, July 26, 2024 /CNW/ - Today, the
Honourable 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."
Associated Links
- Federal Resources - Wildfires
- Requests for Federal Assistance
- Government Operations Centre
- Request for Federal Assistance Webpage - Details
regarding the federal support provided in this RFA will be added to
this webpage once available
SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada