UCP government hampered Jasper fire fighting efforts
Naheed Nenshi, Leader, Alberta’s New Democrats, issued the following statement about the Jasper Wildfire Complex Municipal After-Action Review:
“The number one responsibility of the government is to protect Albertans from harm. Danielle Smith and her UCP government have failed to protect Albertans in the most egregious way possible - by putting politics ahead of people’s lives.
“I know a lot about managing natural disasters and emergencies. You have to take politics out of it and let the experts and frontline workers focus on keeping people and property safe.
“But this government never takes politics out of it. And this report shows that their interference and their constant picking fights with Ottawa cost valuable time and resources. Their incompetence has very real consequences.
“The Jasper wildfire review says in no uncertain terms that the UCP government failed Albertans. As the town burned, destroying 358 properties and causing more than $1.2 billion in damage, the UCP government politicized a public emergency. The report outlines that ‘political challenges’ caused by the UCP government disrupted the focus of local leaders and wasted time that should have been spent on fighting the fire.
“The UCP government exploited a life and death moment to pick more fights with the feds. And in their response to this report, rather than accepting responsibility and promising to do better, they do what they always do: lash out at any criticism, insult others, and refuse to accept any blame for the mistakes they have made.
“Mike Ellis is a terrible minister. He picks fights with the police, in a government that has consistently defunded law enforcement. He wastes money on a new Alberta police service despite public opinion being massively against it. And now we know he can’t handle an emergency.
“Albertans deserve better. Alberta‘s New Democrats will work in coordination with other orders of government to protect all communities and provide any Albertans the urgent and needed support when disasters hit.
“No politics. No games. We are better together.”
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