Alberta wildfire situation (May 8, 6:00 p.m.)

More than 29,000 individuals have been evacuated from communities throughout north and central Alberta.

Those evacuated due to wildfires should register at local reception centres or at emergencyregistration.alberta.ca.

Current situation

Alberta has declared a provincial state of emergency. Visit alberta.ca/emergency for information or call 310-4455, now available 24-7.
The evacuation for the town of Edson as well as central and eastern parts of Yellowhead County has lifted. Some areas remain under evacuation order.
The Big Lakes County evacuation order has been downgraded to a one-hour evacuation alert. Large portions of the affected area currently have no electrical power or natural gas services.
The mandatory evacuation notice has been lifted in Northern Sunrise County. Residents are now allowed to return to their homes.
Mandatory evacuation orders remain in effect for the following areas. Please check alberta.ca/emergency or download the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app for complete information:
- Parts of Brazeau County, including the town of Drayton Valley. Evacuees should register in Edmonton at the Expo Centre, Hall C, at 7515 118 Avenue.
- The entire town of Rainbow Lake. Evacuees should register in High Level at the High Level Arena, at 10101 105 Avenue.
- Fox Creek, Little Smoky and surrounding areas. Evacuees should register at the Allan and Jean Millar Centre, at 58 Sunset Boulevard in Whitecourt.
- Parts of Sturgeon Lake Cree Nation and the Municipal District of Greenview. Evacuees should register at Memorial Hall, 4808 50 Street in Valleyview.
- Parts of the County of Grande Prairie. Evacuees should register at the Bonnets Energy Centre, 10017 99 Avenue, Grande Prairie.
- Parts of Big Lakes County. Evacuees should register at Elks Rodeo Hall on Highway 749.
- Parts of Lac Ste. Anne County. Evacuees should register at the Mayerthorpe Diamond Centre, at 4184 54 Street.
- Parts of Yellowhead County (east of Range Road 110 and east of Range Road 101 and south of Township Road 560). Evacuees should register at the Dr. Duncan Murray Rec Centre, 805 Switzer Drive, Hinton, or at the Jasper Fitness & Aquatics Centre, at 305 Bonhomme Street, Jasper.
- Parkland County and the Hamlet of Entwistle. Evacuees should register at Wabamun Jubilee Hall, at 5132 53 Avenue in Wabamun.
Residents of the following areas should be prepared to evacuate on short notice:
- The Grovesdale area of the Municipal District of Greenview.
- Clearwater County in the area west of Beaverdam Provincial Recreation Area and east of the Bighorn Dam, including the hamlet of Nordegg.
- Parts of the County of Grande Prairie, including the Pipestone Creek area.
- The town of Valleyview.
- Lac St. Anne County, in the area north of Township Road 560 and south of Highway 43, and between Range Road 60 to 53 and the community of Cherhill.
- Athabasca County, in the area of Range Road 214 and Range Road 215 north of Township Road 674. The prepare to evacuate notice for everyone else in the area between Jackfish Lake and the Athabasca River to the west remains in effect.
- Big Lakes County
- MD of Greenview, in the area west of Highway 40 and south of the Wapiti River to the British Columbia border.
Eighteen declared states of local emergency (SOLE) and two band council resolutions include:
- Big Lakes County
- Brazeau County
- Clear Hills County
- Drayton Valley
- Town of Edson
- MD of Fairview
- Town of Fairview
- MD of Greenview
- Town of Fox Creek
- Gift Lake Metis Settlement
- County of Grande Prairie
- Town of High Prairie
- Northern Sunrise County
- East Prairie Metis Settlement
- Peavine Metis Settlement
- Lac St. Anne County
- Parkland County
- Town of Rainbow Lake
- Yellowhead County
- The Little Red River Cree Nation (Fox Lake) has declared a SOLE through Band Council Resolution
- Whitefish Lake First Nation has declared a SOLE through Band Council Resolution

Information for evacuees

Evacuees should register at the reception centre identified for their community so staff can quickly assist them and connect them with the resources they need.
Evacuees with special needs who are unable to stay in an evacuation centre can request emergency financial assistance to cover hotel accommodations.
- Special needs could include having a disability, a medical condition or other family needs.
- Apply for emergency financial assistance by visiting an Alberta Supports Centre or calling the Income Support Contact Centre at 1-866-644-5135. Information is also available through the Alberta Supports Contact Centre at 1-877-644-9992.
Any Albertan who has evacuated under mandatory order for seven consecutive days or more can apply for a one-time emergency evacuation payment at alberta.ca/emergency using an Alberta.ca Account.
- Eligible evacuees will receive $1,250 per adult and an additional $500 per dependent child under 18 years.
- Funds can take up to 24 hours to flow into accounts and will be disbursed via e-transfer.
- Evacuees unable to receive an e-transfer or who cannot apply online can contact 310-4455 for assistance and to make alternate arrangements.
Albertans affected by wildfires, including evacuees, can access supports by calling the Alberta Supports Contact Centre at 1-877-644-9992.
- The centre is open from 8:15 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends.
The Income Support Contact Centre is also available 24-7 and provides emergency financial assistance. Call 1-866-644-5135.
Albertans can report a price gouging complaint by calling 310-4455.

Fire bans and other restrictions

Unusually warm, dry weather and strong winds mean it is easier for a wildfire to start and spread.
As a result of these conditions, there is a fire ban issued for most of the province. Fire restrictions in some parks and southern municipalities are also in effect. No open burning is allowed, including backyard fire pits, inside the Forest Protection Area. Alberta Parks and many municipalities and communities have ordered their own bans and restrictions. For more information, visit albertafirebans.ca.
A provincial off-highway vehicle (OHV) restriction is also in place, which means the recreational use of off-highway vehicles on public land, including on designated OHV trails, is prohibited.

Wildfire activity updates

There are currently 88 active wildfires in the Forest Protection Area, 25 of which are classified as out of control.
- Information on all wildfires is on the Alberta Wildfire dashboard and the Alberta Wildfire app.

Travel

There are multiple road closures and advisories for north and central Alberta.
Visit 511.alberta.ca for up-to-date information on road closures and travel advisories.

Health

No additional evacuations were required over the last 24 hours. Evacuated patients and continuing care residents are being relocated in safe and appropriate settings. All zones are opening care spaces to accommodate those in need.
Alberta Health Services has issued a boil water advisory for the River Bend Water Co-op in Big Lakes County as a precautionary measure.
- The advisory is in place for any remaining water within the water system, and for when water service is restored following wildfire evacuation. Instructions are available on the Alberta Health Services Coping with Emergencies website.
All patients who are expected for assessment or treatment for a cancer diagnosis in an evacuated area are asked to call the Cancer Centre Transition Team (toll-free at 1-888-432-8865) to ensure they are receiving the care they require.
All appointments with laboratory services, mental health and public health in evacuated communities continue to be postponed at this time. Clients will be contacted directly by AHS to be rescheduled as soon as possible. Dialysis clients are being booked at alternate sites. Home care clients impacted by evacuations are being contacted to arrange for alternative home visits and support from nursing teams.
EMS and zones continue to be fully engaged to ensure the safe transport and care of all patients/residents. Other zones and provincial programs are assisting with reception centres and ensuring availability of spaces/equipment as needed.
Residents affected by the wildfires who have health care-related questions and are looking for up-to-date information about the wildfires or health care resources, should visit the Alberta Health Services Wildfire Resources webpage.
For non-emergency health advice, including information on their health care options, residents should call Health Link at 811.

Mental health and addiction resources

If you’re struggling with your mental health or need to talk to someone about how you are feeling, resources are available:
- Call the AHS Mental Health Helpline at 1-877-303-2642 or Health Link at 811
- Call 211 or text INFO to 211 or visit ab.211.ca to access digital supports or find local services near you
- Call Counselling Alberta at 1-833-827-4230 or visit counsellingalberta.com for virtual counselling services
Addiction supports are also available:
- Call the AHS Addiction Helpline at 1-866-332-2322 or Health Link at 811
- Call the Virtual Opioid Dependency Program at 1-844-383-7688 for same-day treatment

Air quality concerns

As of noon today, most conditions across the province are rated “low-risk”.
- Conditions in Fort Chipewyan, Fort McKay and Fort McKay South are rated “moderate risk”.
People who are concerned about air quality impacts on their health should refer to the Air Quality Health Index. The Air Quality Health Index is updated hourly.
Alberta Health Services is deploying mobile air quality monitoring, as multiple communities are reporting high levels of smoke and ash residue.

Justice

The Drayton Valley circuit court is within the Town of Drayton Valley’s evacuation order. The next sitting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 16.

Agriculture and livestock

Agricultural societies may have room for livestock evacuated from wildfire areas. Contact the Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies.
Evacuated farmers and ranchers:
- Should visit alberta.ca/emergency to find the most up-to-date information on the current wildfire situation.
- Can contact the wildfire resource line at 310-4455 with agriculture and livestock-related questions.
- Should register at the reception centre identified for their community so staff can quickly assist them and connect them with the resources they need.
- May need re-entry permits if they want to go back into an evacuated area to check on livestock and should check with their municipality before entering.

Alberta Emergency Alerts

For up-to-the-minute Alberta Emergency Alert information, visit Alberta Emergency Alert.
Albertans are encouraged to download the Alberta Emergency Alert mobile app, which immediately pushes all alerts out to subscribers.
Albertans may notice emergency alerts for their community expiring or being removed from the system. This does not mean the emergency is over. What it does mean is that your community has been able to return to normal communication methods to update residents via local media.
Please pay close attention to alert updates, local media and the alberta.ca/emergency website for up-to-date information on evacuation orders, reception centres and resources for people who have been impacted.

Donations

Albertans who wish to help can make cash donations through the Canadian Red Cross or within their regions to a recognized charitable organization of their choice.
Financial donations are preferred for disaster events, as most critical items can be sourced locally and monetary donations can be used to support vulnerable populations and be targeted to mental health initiatives in support of evacuees.
Individuals and companies with goods or services to offer or donate to support government’s response to the wildfire event can email [email protected].ca.

Insurance

Albertans with questions about their insurance coverage during the wildfires should contact their insurance representative.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has updated information about insurance during wildfires. Albertans affected by wildfires can visit the IBC web page for information on property and auto insurance.
Albertans can call IBCs Consumer Information Centre at 1-844-2ask-IBC (1-844-227-5422) or email IBC’s regional office at [email protected] (Western and Pacific regions).

Related Topics:#AlbertaWildfireUpdate feature

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Fraser Institute: Time to fix health care in Alberta

Published on December 22, 2024

Todayville

Shortly after Danielle Smith was sworn in as premier, she warned Albertans that it would “be a bit bumpy for the next 90 days” on the road to health-care reform. Now, more than two years into her premiership, the province’s health-care system remains in shambles.

According to a new report, this year patients in Alberta faced a median wait of 38.4 weeks between seeing a general practitioner and receiving medically necessary treatment. That’s more than eight weeks longer than the Canadian average (30.0 weeks) and more than triple the 10.5 weeks Albertans waited in 1993 when the Fraser Institute first published nationwide estimates.

In fact, since Premier Smith took office in 2022, wait times have actually increased 15.3 per cent.

To be fair, Premier Smith has made good on her commitment to expand collaboration with the private sector for the delivery of some public surgeries, and focused spending in critical areas such as emergency services and increased staffing. She also divided Alberta Health Services, arguing it currently operates as a monopoly and monopolies don’t face the consequences when delivering poor service.

While the impact of these reforms remain largely unknown, one thing is clear: the province requires immediate and bold health-care reforms based on proven lessons from other countries (e.g. Australia and the Netherlands) and other provinces (e.g. Saskatchewan and Quebec).

These reforms include a rapid expansion of contracts with private clinics to deliver more publicly funded services. The premier should also consider a central referral system to connect patients to physicians with the shortest wait time in their area in public or private clinics (while patients retain the right to wait longer for the physician of their choice). This could be integrated into the province’s Connect Care system for electronic patient records.

Saskatchewan did just this in the early 2010s and moved from the longest wait times in Canada to the second shortest in just four years. (Since then, wait times have crept back up with little to no expansion in the contracts with private clinics, which was so successful in the past. This highlights a key lesson for Alberta—these reforms are only a first step.)

Premier Smith should also change the way hospitals are paid to encourage more care and a more patient-focused approach. Why?

Because Alberta still generally follows an outdated approach to hospital funding where hospitals receive a pre-set budget annually. As a result, patients are seen as “costs” that eat into the hospital budget, and hospitals are not financially incentivized to treat more patients or provide more rapid access to care (in fact, doing so drains the budget more rapidly). By contrast, more successful universal health-care countries around the world pay hospitals for the services they provide. In other words, by making treatment the source of hospital revenue, hospitals provide more care more rapidly to patients and improve the quality of services overall. Quebec is already moving in this direction, with other provinces also experimenting.

The promise of a “new day” for health care in Alberta is increasingly looking like a pipe dream, but there’s still time to meaningfully improve health care for Albertans. To finally provide relief for patients and their families, Premier Smith should increase private-sector collaboration, create a central referral system, and change the way hospitals are funded.

Bacchus Barua

Director, Health Policy Studies, Fraser Institute

Tegan Hill

Director, Alberta Policy, Fraser Institute

Alberta

Ford and Trudeau are playing checkers. Trump and Smith are playing chess

Published on December 21, 2024

Dan McTeague

By Dan McTeague

Ford’s calls for national unity – “We need to stand united as Canadians!” – in context feels like an endorsement of fellow Electric Vehicle fanatic Trudeau. And you do wonder if that issue has something to do with it. After all, the two have worked together to pump billions in taxpayer dollars into the EV industry.

There’s no doubt about it: Donald Trump’s threat of a blanket 25% tariff on Canadian goods (to be established if the Canadian government fails to take sufficient action to combat drug trafficking and illegal crossings over our southern border) would be catastrophic for our nation’s economy. More than $3 billion in goods move between the U.S. and Canada on a daily basis. If enacted, the Trump tariff would likely result in a full-blown recession.

It falls upon Canada’s leaders to prevent that from happening. That’s why Justin Trudeau flew to Florida two weeks ago to point out to the president-elect that the trade relationship between our countries is mutually beneficial.

This is true, but Trudeau isn’t the best person to make that case to Trump, since he has been trashing the once and future president, and his supporters, both in public and private, for years. He did so again at an appearance just the other day, in which he implied that American voters were sexist for once again failing to elect the nation’s first female president, and said that Trump’s election amounted to an assault on women’s rights.

Consequently, the meeting with Trump didn’t go well.

But Trudeau isn’t Canada’s only politician, and in recent days we’ve seen some contrasting approaches to this serious matter from our provincial leaders.

First up was Doug Ford, who followed up a phone call with Trudeau earlier this week by saying that Canadians have to prepare for a trade war. “Folks, this is coming, it’s not ‘if,’ it is — it’s coming… and we need to be prepared.”

Ford said that he’s working with Liberal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to put together a retaliatory tariff list. Spokesmen for his government floated the idea of banning the LCBO from buying American alcohol, and restricting the export of critical minerals needed for electric vehicle batteries (I’m sure Trump is terrified about that last one).

But Ford’s most dramatic threat was his announcement that Ontario is prepared to shut down energy exports to the U.S., specifically to Michigan, New York, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, if Trump follows through with his plan. “We’re sending a message to the U.S. You come and attack Ontario, you attack the livelihoods of Ontario and Canadians, we’re going to use every tool in our toolbox to defend Ontarians and Canadians across the border,” Ford said.

Now, unfortunately, all of this chest-thumping rings hollow. Ontario does almost $500 billion per year in trade with the U.S., and the province’s supply chains are highly integrated with America’s. The idea of just cutting off the power, as if you could just flip a switch, is actually impossible. It’s a bluff, and Trump has already called him on it. When told about Ford’s threat by a reporter this week, Trump replied “That’s okay if he does that. That’s fine.”

And Ford’s calls for national unity – “We need to stand united as Canadians!” – in context feels like an endorsement of fellow Electric Vehicle fanatic Trudeau. And you do wonder if that issue has something to do with it. After all, the two have worked together to pump billions in taxpayer dollars into the EV industry. Just over the past year Ford and Trudeau have been seen side by side announcing their $5 billion commitment to Honda, or their $28.2 billion in subsidies for new Stellantis and Volkswagen electric vehicle battery plants.

Their assumption was that the U.S. would be a major market for Canadian EVs. Remember that “vehicles are the second largest Canadian export by value, at $51 billion in 2023 of which 93% was exported to the U.S.,”according to the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers Association, and “Auto is Ontario’s top export at 28.9% of all exports (2023).”

But Trump ran on abolishing the Biden administration’s de facto EV mandate. Now that he’s back in the White House, the market for those EVs that Trudeau and Ford invested in so heavily is going to be much softer. Perhaps they’d like to be able to blame Trump’s tariffs for the coming downturn rather than their own misjudgment.

In any event, Ford’s tactic stands in stark contrast to the response from Alberta, Canada’s true energy superpower. Premier Danielle Smith made it clear that her province “will not support cutting off our Alberta energy exports to the U.S., nor will we support a tariff war with our largest trading partner and closest ally.”

Smith spoke about this topic at length at an event announcing a new $29-million border patrol team charged with combatting drug trafficking, at which said that Trudeau’s criticisms of the president-elect were, “not helpful.” Her deputy premier Mike Ellis was quoted as saying, “The concerns that president-elect Trump has expressed regarding fentanyl are, quite frankly, the same concerns that I and the premier have had.” Smith and Ellis also criticized Ottawa’s progressively lenient approach to drug crimes.

(For what it’s worth, a recent Léger poll found that “Just 29 per cent of [Canadians] believe Trump’s concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking from Canada to the U.S. are unwarranted.” Perhaps that’s why some recent polls have found that Trudeau is currently less popular in Canada than Trump at the moment.)

Smith said that Trudeau’s criticisms of the president-elect were, “not helpful.” And on X/Twitter she said, “Now is the time to… reach out to our friends and allies in the U.S. to remind them just how much Americans and Canadians mutually benefit from our trade relationship – and what we can do to grow that partnership further,” adding, “Tariffs just hurt Americans and Canadians on both sides of the border. Let’s make sure they don’t happen.”

This is exactly the right approach. Smith knows there is a lot at stake in this fight, and is not willing to step into the ring in a fight that Canada simply can’t win, and will cause a great deal of hardship for all involved along the way.

While Trudeau indulges in virtue signaling and Ford in sabre rattling, Danielle Smith is engaging in true statesmanship. That’s something that is in short supply in our country these days.

As I’ve written before, Trump is playing chess while Justin Trudeau and Doug Ford are playing checkers. They should take note of Smith’s strategy. Honey will attract more than vinegar, and if the long history of our two countries tell us anything, it’s that diplomacy is more effective than idle threats.

Dan McTeague is President of Canadians for Affordable Energy.