Trudeau, Poilievre heated over Jasper wildfire: “Pretends you can put out forest fires with taxes"

Debate on climate change and the price of carbon was focused on the Jasper, Alta. wildfires this past July during question period in the House of Commons on Wednesday.

5,000 residents and 20,000 visitors to Jasper National Park were ordered out in late July due to a fast-moving wildfire.

“Mr. Speaker, (Justin Trudeau) pretends you can put out forest fires with taxes,” said Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre. “What he should have done is listen to his own officials who said that the mass build up of fuel in the Jasper Valley, as a result of dead trees, needed to be addressed through controlled burns and other clearing methods, and also preparation, so that we would have the ability to fight the fire if and when it ever started.” Poilievre said.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded, saying “Jasper was one of the most fire smart communities in the country over the past two years. Residents and leaders within Jasper have been exemplary in making sure they were doing everything they could to protect their community. This fire, Mr. Speaker, was a treetop fire. It jumped from treetop to treetop and through flaming pine cones, kilometers ahead of it, which is what set this burn. This is a result of climate change. Mr. speaker, climate change. He doesn't want to fight."

"It's true — the people of Jasper were fire smart," the Conservative leader replied. "The problem is that the government in Ottawa was fire stupid. This government was warned repeatedly over seven years that they needed to clear the dead wood to prevent the spread of a future fire. Why, instead of bringing in a crippling carbon tax, didn't he clear away the wood and stop leaving a tinderbox to explode?"

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