Alberta government asks Ottawa to reimburse province for Jasper wildfire recovery costs [Video]

The Alberta government wants the federal government to financially compensate the province for costs related to rebuilding Jasper after this summer’s wildfire.

Alberta’s minister of public safety and emergency services, Mike Ellis, told a federal committee Monday that the provincial government had reduced decision-making power during the immediate aftermath of the Jasper wildfire, but still must foot the recovery bill.

On July 24, a powerful wildfire ripped through the Jasper townsite, destroying one-third of the buildings there. Parks Canada and its partners established a unified command centre in the aftermath to deal with recovery.

“The park superintendent has oversight for all emergency management decisions, for both the park and the municipality,” Ellis said. 

“This places the province in a position where we can certainly influence but not decide, yet the province of Alberta is responsible for most of the bill in regards to the recovery.”

Ellis said the government was …