Evidence of meeting #123 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was fire.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Director General, Government Operations Centre, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
I think you covered it—
Director General, Government Operations Centre, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Go ahead.
Liberal
Director General, Government Operations Centre, Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
Sure.
That's absolutely right. My colleague is spot on here.
Last year, as I said, we brought in about 5,500 international firefighters. Some of those were from countries that have never come here before, including South Korea, France, Spain, Portugal and others. NRCan helps partially fund CIFFC, which is made up of a consortium of all the provinces. CIFFC is a jewel in the crown here of forest firefighting in this country. It's a very small but powerful organization and has huge partners for us.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Could I dwell on that for two minutes? I don't have two minutes. I have one minute.
The mining sector in Canada is globally recognized as a centre of excellence. We provide mining expertise around the world. Mining crews from around the world also come to Canada to provide their expertise. When it comes to forestry, Canada and countries like Finland and countries with lots of forests are naturally going to be in the lead role. How does Canada stack up globally in terms of our forest management and our governance over forest management?
Maybe that's for Mr. Trehearne.
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
I'll just share from my perspective, being a member of a community of national parks internationally. I was actually in Finland this year.
We can always learn from each other, but Canada is looked to for its expertise. It's why we're able to seamlessly send resources to other countries and participate. Our forest management, our planning, is looked to from a national parks perspective, certainly, but we also look to learn from others as well.
Liberal
Lloyd Longfield Liberal Guelph, ON
Rather than blaming you, I want to be supporting you, and I appreciate the support you're giving us. I hope we can give you some in return.
Thank you.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
Thank you, Mr. Longfield.
We'll go to a final round. We'll make it a four-minute round. We'll start with Mr. Leslie.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to continue on a couple of topics that we've touched on.
First, my colleague here, Mr. Calkins, asked you, Mr. Campbell, about private firefighting services and whether or not they were allowed—more or less—to enter.
I will be tabling another witness, because we have received some really interesting information from the president of the Arctic Fire Safety Services, which hopefully you were engaged with, because there are some incredible accusations regarding Parks Canada's denial of their ability to enter the premises, particularly from park warden Scott Murphy from Parks Canada, in preventing them and suggesting that they would be escorted out or arrested if they were coming in to work.
First, are you familiar with this company at all?
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Okay. I look forward to having him join us as a witness so that we can hear a bit more about that, but going back to some of these emails that you are so firmly confident are either out of context or you can't provide any other context to them, would you be willing to table any conversations written down, in any way, that do back up the claim of what happened behind this closed-door meeting?
Could you table something that would alleviate my concern that this was in fact about political pressure, not about a debate of mechanical removal or prescribed burns? Is there anything you could provide me to ease my mind?
Senior Vice-President, Operations, Parks Canada Agency
I don't know what could ease your mind, and we do not take notes at my operations team meetings, full stop. I couldn't provide it for any meeting. We had one today, and I have no notes.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
That's interesting.
Before a prescribed burn is carried out, who has the sign-off?
You mentioned the numbers. Who actually signs off at the ground level, and what is the time frame in that sign-off?
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
Prescriptions are written for prescribed burns. There's a planning at the beginning of the year. Then there's the actual planning that happens and there's a sign-off, but on the day of, it's signed off locally, based on the local factors, just to ensure that all the preconditions are met for the prescribed burn. It's signed off very soon before it's actually undertaken.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Since Minister Guilbeault has been appointed, are you aware of any times that he has asked specifically to understand the use of prescribed burns in Jasper and/or any other national parks, or has he been directly briefed on the repeated warnings since 2017 on the tinderbox waiting to burn? Has he been directly briefed, or has this document made it to his office? Does he have deniability that he has seen the documents, or has he actually been directly briefed?
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
During the fire season, the minister and the minister's staff are briefed regularly on the status, I assume.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
They were aware of the repeated warnings of the tinderbox that was the deadwood in Jasper National Park.
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
I can't speak to that.
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
You don't think that was worthy of the minister's awareness?
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
That situation is replicable in a lot of places in Canada. It's....
Conservative
Branden Leslie Conservative Portage—Lisgar, MB
Okay. I'm going to change directions here.
There was a Blacklock's article that came out in August about the department refusing to provide a piece of information that I'm hoping can be tabled, whether through Parks Canada and/or ECCC. That relates to how many hectares of dead pine are now left standing in Jasper National Park. I understand that there were small amounts of prescribed burns of 1,700 acres and some mechanical removals—
That's 1,700 hectares. I'm sorry.
I'd like to know how much is left now. I'm sure we have the technology to do a reasonable assessment. I don't need a specific number, but you wouldn't release that to the media in August. Will you table it with the committee so that we can have a real understanding?
Our “emergency response minister”—instead of preparedness minister—should probably be aware of how much deadwood still exists. Is that information that you can you share with this committee within the next week?
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Francis Scarpaleggia
You have 15 seconds. I'm really going to run the clock tight right now.
Vice-President, Protected Areas Establishment and Conservation, Parks Canada Agency
I'm not sure if we can have what you ask for in that time frame—
Conservative