Alberta
Community Fireguard Program Protecting Canmore and the Bow Valley from wildfires
Construction of the Bow Valley Community Fireguard near Canmore.
Mitigating the risks of catastrophic wildfires is a primary focus for Alberta’s government. With increased wildfire activity in recent years, it is crucial that communities at risk are prepared. The Community Fireguard Program is critical to these efforts. By removing trees surrounding vulnerable communities that can act as fuel in the event of fires, the program helps ensure that residents, homes, businesses and critical infrastructure are better protected from the devastating effects of wildfires.
Construction on the new Bow Valley Community Fireguard started in late fall 2024, after the project received $750,000 in provincial funding administered by the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta. Project partners include the Town of Canmore, Municipal District of Bighorn and the Kananaskis Improvement District, with support from Alberta’s government.
“Alberta faced significant wildfire seasons over the last two years. The reality is that decades of fire suppression left our forests aging and vulnerable. By working together with our at-risk communities, we are taking steps to increase wildfire resilience across Alberta.”
Ongoing work on the fireguard, which includes a combination of mechanical tree removal and forest thinning, will significantly reduce the potential for a wildfire for years to come. Additional work is required to complete the entire fireguard over the next three to five years and planning is underway for the next funding approval and stage of construction.
“Wildfire is the hazard that poses the greatest risk to Canmore. With hotter, longer and more intense fire seasons, work on building the Bow Valley Community Fireguard is critical to ensuring that we have the means and the plans to combat this significant threat to people, property and critical infrastructure.”
“The Bow Valley Community Fireguard is a massive undertaking made possible through the province’s commitment to strengthening the wildfire resiliency of our communities. We are thankful for their continued support and leadership in advancing wildfire prevention initiatives across Alberta. We are also grateful for the countless hours of effort behind the scenes from the teams of the MD of Bighorn, the Town of Canmore, and the Kananaskis Improvement District that have brought this project to life to ensure the Bow Valley has a safer future for generations to come.”
Alberta’s government is taking significant steps to enhance wildfire preparedness across the province in preparation for the 2025 wildfire season, with several other fireguard initiatives currently underway. In Whitecourt, fireguard construction is ongoing, while in Hinton, fireguard planning is in progress. Swan Hills is focused on debris clean-up from 2023 fireguard construction to ensure continued wildfire protection for the area.
Additionally, work is underway to hire more wildland firefighters, who will receive specialized training at the Hinton Training Centre, which also provides free online training to municipalities and local fire departments. To support local communities, the province maintains mutual aid and resource-sharing agreements to ensure access to specialized firefighting equipment when needed.
The FireSmart program continues to help make properties more resistant to wildfires, and its principles are being implemented across the province. Alberta’s government is also continuing to implement prescribed burns and selective harvesting to reduce the risks of wildfires by removing aging trees.
Aggressive measures to reduce the mountain pine beetle population have also been effective, with work ongoing to cut and burn infested trees as needed.
Quick facts
- The Community Fireguard Program was launched in 2023 to enhance wildfire preparedness for communities at risk of wildfires.
- Alberta’s government invested $5 million to support emergency fireguard construction in 2023, in response to extreme wildfire activities.
- Emergency fireguards were constructed in Buck Creek, Grande Prairie, Dimsdale, Lac Ste. Anne, Valleyview, Gift Lake and Fox Creek.
- The program received an additional $14 million in 2024.
Related information
From CPAC on YouTube
In a virtual news conference, Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta, discusses her meetings with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in West Palm Beach, Florida. Smith met with Trump to discuss the incoming president’s repeated threats to impose a 25 per cent tariff on all products from Canada and Mexico.
Alberta
Judge reverses suspension against Alberta police officer for speaking at Freedom Convoy rally
From LifeSiteNews
The suspension without pay for Staff Sergeant Richard Abbott of the Edmonton Police Service was out of line and not at all ‘justifiable,’ Justice James Nelson of Alberta Court of King’s Bench ruled.
A policeman from Alberta won a decisive court victory after a judge overturned a ruling against him by his superiors that suspended him without pay because he spoke at a Freedom Convoy rally in 2022.
Justice James Nelson of Alberta Court of King’s Bench recently ruled that the punishment for Staff Sergeant Richard Abbott of the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) was out of line and not at all “justifiable.”
“While taking into account the higher standards placed by law on a police officer that can limit the officer’s freedom of expression compared to the freedom enjoyed by other citizens, we are left in my view with factual distinctions that could be drawn from the evidence,” Nelson wrote in his ruling.
The judge also noted that the “facts and evidence” in the case were not clear in justifying the suspension.
Abbott was a 26-year police veteran with a clean record and “no prior disciplinary misconduct.”
His suspension came in 2022 after he gave a videotaped speech at a local Freedom Convoy rally, of which many were being held at the time in solidarity with the truckers who descended upon Ottawa in protest of COVID dictates of all kinds.
Abbott opposed COVID jab mandates and was sympathetic to the peaceful Freedom Convoy movement.
Judge Nelson agreed with Abbott’s statements and overturned his suspension.
The now former EPS Chief Dale McFee cited Abbott with breach of Police Service Regulations, saying his actions for speaking in favor of the protests were “conduct of engaging in the political activity of the Freedom Convoy, which “interferes with and adversely influence decisions you are required to make in the performance of your duties.”
McFee claimed that Abbott’s actions undermined the EPS as well as his “colleagues” to ensure “proportionate and correct decisions are being made when dealing with protesters so our community is safe and secure.”
“Your actions also created a conflict of interest by using your status as a police officer in an attempt to further the cause of the Freedom Convoy. By publicly supporting a cause where the activities of this group involve illegal activities, this undermines public confidence that police will behave impartially,” McFee wrote.
The reality is the EPS had mistakenly claimed Abbott had attended a large border protest in Coutts, Alberta.
In court, Abbott was successful in arguing that the videotape of him was from a protest nowhere near Coutts and was instead in Milk River and that he never spoke in favor of the border blockade protests.
In early 2022, thousands of Canadians from coast to coast came to Ottawa to demand an end to COVID mandates in all forms. Despite the peaceful nature of the protest, Trudeau’s government invoked the Emergencies Act (EA) on February 14. Trudeau revoked the order on February 23.
The EA controversially allowed the government to freeze the bank accounts of protesters, conscript tow truck drivers, and arrest people for participating in assemblies the government deemed illegal.
Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, the main leaders of the Freedom Convoy, as reported by LifeSiteNews, will receive their verdict on March 12.
They both face a possible 10-year prison sentence. LifeSiteNews has reported extensively on their trial.
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