Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
Employment Minister Randy Boissonnault has been tasked by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to lead the federal government’s share of the work to rebuild Jasper, Alta.
In July, wildfires destroyed one-third of the Rocky Mountain tourist town and displaced about 2,000 residents.
Boissonnault, Edmonton’s member of parliament, will be responsible for coordinating federal resources with the Alberta government, the municipality and Indigenous groups.
“This role that the prime minister has asked me to play in terms of ministerial leadership is important, but it’s a whole-of-government approach,” Boissonnault told reporters on Wednesday.
He will be in Jasper this week meeting with local officials to gain a better understanding of immediate needs, he said.
He added that one of the first tasks will be to see if the federal government can support Jasper to establish temporary housing, which the province and the municipality have been working on since August.
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“My job tomorrow is to find out as many facts as I can so that we can move forward on something very important, which is temporary housing,” he said.
Trudeau also appointed a group of cabinet ministers, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault and Housing Minister Sean Fraser, to support Boissonnault.
In an email, Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said he was happy with Boissonnault’s appointment and was looking forward to working more closely with the minister.
“We warmly welcome federal support that is committed to working collaboratively with provincial, municipal and Indigenous partners to accelerate the recovery process,” Ireland said.
“We all need to work together to help Jasper thrive again socially and economically.”
& copy 2024 The Canadian Press
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://globalnews.ca/news/10803186/jasper-wildfire-rebuild-randy-boissonnault-federal-government-lead/
