We Grieve with Jasper

Originally Published on July 31, 2024

This week, we woke up or went to bed with news that our friends in Jasper are being evacuated; not knowing what will happen next. 

It was scary. It is scary. We have been through this before; and, we hope it doesn't happen again. But, we know it will happen again; we just don’t know where or when.

When moments like this happen - in Jasper last week or in Waterton, Fort McMurray and Slave Lake, previously - they make us think. We think of what we can do and how we can help. The Government of Canada and the Government of Alberta are helping by matching the donations made to the Red Cross.

You can go the Red Cross website or click here.

Then, we think of what we can do next. This is when we look for solutions. We need to have a conversation on a local and national scale so as to create an Emergency Response Strategy. A strategy that acknowledges the roles of various levels of governments and their expertise; a strategy that works to hold each other up, one that works to support each other. A strategy that works not only when the emergency occurs; but one that incentivizes households, businesses, municipalities and provinces to invest in infrastructure which can help to avert the effects of natural disasters.

We know that there is a lot to do to recover and to rebuild. These discussions will be the focus of an upcoming policy chat that my team and I have been setting up for the past few months. 

We grieve for Jasper, we are anxious for our friends in BC and we will get through this together.