Nenshi criticizes UCP government’s 'exceptionally slow' rollout of interim housing for Jasper

A fire truck travels past a devastated residential block in Jasper, Alta., on Friday July 26, 2024. Jasper residents who lost their homes in last month’s wildfire face unique rebuilding challenges tied to leasing provisions nearly as old as Canada. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Amber Bracken

Alberta NDP Leader Naheed Nenshi says the UCP government has been “exceptionally slow” when it comes to Jasper’s wildfire recovery.

During a Friday (Dec. 20) media roundtable, the former mayor of Calgary criticized the slow rollout of interim housing for displaced residents and recovery workers.

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“All these months later, and we don’t really have a solution on interim housing,” Nenshi said.

In late July, the Jasper wildfire promoted the evacuation of 25,000 people and destroyed nearly a third of the townsite. Nenshi described the disaster as “a defining moment for the province” and expressed his appreciation of first responders and Alberta’s emergency response system.

While he had no criticism of the immediate response, he was critical of the UCP government’s handling of interim housing.

The UCP government has promised 250 modular homes, with the first anticipated to start coming online in early 2025. While the sites have been serviced, the province is still working to secure the land leases from Parks Canada.

Premier Danielle Smith said during a Dec. 14 radio interview that provincial officials were “very, very frustrated” with the federal agency on this issue and threatened to convey her frustration to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“We are trying to do everything we can to get people in their homes, and we’re getting caught up on regulatory processes from Parks Canada, [which] doesn’t want to cut down a tree [and] doesn’t want to extend the boundary of Jasper so that we can put up temporary housing,” Smith said.

Nenshi noted the provincial government has had a hard time working with Parks Canada and the Municipality of Jasper and how it was important to recognize people’s expertise.

“I know that there was a point where the province was being very difficult on the form of interim housing they needed,” he said.

“It had to be permanent single-family homes on particular land that was not particularly good urban planning or good for the future growth of Jasper, and so you should never let the need to move quickly ensure that you’re getting a bad solution.”

He added it was possible to not just provide immediate solutions but also address the chronic housing shortage that has plagued Jasper for years.

During her radio interview, Smith also criticized Parks Canada for not doing enough fire risk reduction work prior to the wildfire and not being willing to work with the province to clear deadwood on the west side of town.

“We try to work collaboratively with our federal counterparts, but at this moment, Parks Canada is a real problem,” Smith said.

She added the province may have to find ways to “take matters into our own hands” if the agency didn’t get more “realistic” with protecting communities in Alberta’s national parks.

The federal government has repeatedly denied that poor forest management played a significant role in the Jasper wildfire.

Nenshi accused Smith of going back “to her summer talking points around forest management.”

“It’s very clear that we need to modernize forest management across the province and across jurisdictions in the world,” he said. “Climate change means that the threat of wildfire is even more real, and our forest management processes have not kept pace with where they need to be.”

The NDP leader has asked Jodi Calahoo Stonehouse, shadow minister of Forestry and Parks, to look at better forest management practices that need to be put in place to increase resilience against wildfires.

“But this province is not interested in doing that,” Nenshi said. “They’re just interested in throwing blame rather than saying, ‘This is what we would have done’ or ‘This is how we’re managing provincial lands in a smarter way.’ Nah, they just want to blame the feds and own the libs. That’s the only thing they’ve got.”