Alberta
Taking wildfire operations to new heights
Drone and helicopter testing being performed by Alberta Wildfire personnel. Photo Credit: Alberta Wildfire
Budget 2024 enables Alberta to make use of leading-edge technologies to prevent and respond to wildfires.
As Alberta heads into wildfire season, many areas of the province are experiencing heightened wildfire risk. Alberta’s government continues to prioritize new technologies and tactics that will enhance front-line response and suppression efforts.
Budget 2024 will invest an additional $151 million over the next three years for wildfire preparedness, prevention, response and mitigation. This additional funding will enhance wildland firefighting capacity with increased wildfire resources such as personnel, aircraft, drones, artificial intelligence (AI) and night-vision technology.
“Alberta’s government is well prepared for the 2024 wildfire season. We have emerging technologies that will enable us to better protect forests and communities while continuing to prioritize proactive measures that build wildfire resilience throughout the province.”
Aerial operations are integral to firefighting efforts and increased funding will enable the province to add two additional long-term helicopter contracts, two new air tanker contracts and additional drones for aerial wildfire surveillance. Budget 2024 will also support the renewal of 130 helicopter contracts by April 1.
“We live in a time where we have access to incredible technologies and last year, we recognized some great successes from various firefighting technology pilot programs. I can say with confidence that the additional night-vision equipped helicopters and drones will make a big difference in our wildfire mitigation and response efforts this year.”
Alberta Wildfire will continue to explore, research and test new developments in wildfire prevention, mitigation, smoke detection and suppression to assess how innovative technologies can support a rapid response and help extinguish wildfires. Wildfire management best practices are always evolving, and Alberta’s government is working to stay ahead of the curve.
For future wildfire seasons, the government is exploring options to potentially expand the province’s air tanker fleet and pilot more emerging firefighting technologies.
Quick facts
- Night-vision goggles amplify light 60,000 times and allow helicopter pilots to work overnight and conduct activities like bucketing operations.
- Wildfire suppression efforts are more likely to be successful at night, as temperatures are usually lower, humidity is typically higher and wildfires are less active.
- Alberta has been successfully using an AI wildfire occurrence prediction system since 2022 to identify areas where wildfires are likely to occur.
- Budget 2024 also includes hiring 100 new firefighters, which will result in five additional 20-person crews.
Alberta
Free Alberta Strategy petition demanding PM Trudeau fire Steven Guilbeault passes 13,000 signatures
News release from Free Alberta Strategy
Are you tired of watching elected officials flout the law and disregard public concerns with impunity?
Are you frustrated by a federal government that prioritizes arrogance over accountability?
If so, you’re not alone.
Over 13,000 people have signed our petition calling on Justin Trudeau to fire Steven Guilbeault.
Once one of Greenpeace’s most disruptive forces, Guilbeault has spent enough time in an orange jumpsuit to build up a reputation for deliberately ignoring both law enforcement and the courts.
Since then, his career has been marked by a troubling disregard for both legal boundaries and public sentiment.
In 2001, Guilbeault was found guilty of mischief for scaling the CN Tower in Toronto and displaying a banner.
He received a sentence of one year’s probation, was mandated to complete 100 hours of community service in Montreal, and was ordered to pay $1,000 in restitution.
The incident incurred approximately $50,000 in costs for the tower operators.
Shortly thereafter, Guilbeault orchestrated another audacious act, leading a Greenpeace team in a demonstration at the Calgary residence of then Alberta Premier Ralph Klein and his wife, Colleen.
They erected a banner, positioned ladders against the house, and ascended to the roof to install a solar panel.
The intrusion deeply unsettled Colleen Klein, who was alone at the time and feared a home invasion – she resorted to grabbing a broom for defense.
Despite his controversial background, Justin Trudeau’s decision to appoint Guilbeault as Minister of Environment and Climate Change raised eyebrows and elicited criticism.
Jason Kenney, then premier of Alberta, accurately predicted the consequences of Guilbeault assuming a significant role in Justin Trudeau’s cabinet.
“His own personal background and track record on these issues suggests someone who is more an absolutist than a pragmatist when it comes to finding solutions,” Kenney said.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that Guilbeault’s response to legal setbacks in his political career, such as the Supreme Court’s ruling on the unconstitutionality of his Impact Assessment Act, has been dismissive, indicating a stubborn adherence to his own agenda rather than a willingness to heed judicial guidance.
Instead of accepting that he was wrong and repealing the law, Guilbeault wants to pass minor amendments and pretend like the Supreme Court ruling never happened.
Worse, the amendments – buried 552 pages into a 686-page budget implementation bill – don’t fix the problem.
Guilbeault still has the power to control projects that fall under provincial jurisdiction.
Consequently, tensions between the federal and provincial governments have escalated, with Alberta poised to immediately challenge the amended legislation in court once again.
This charade is getting old.
This pattern of defiance and disregard for legal constraints has become wearisome, eroding public trust in the integrity of federal institutions.
The rotation of headlines proclaiming federal overreach and constitutional breaches underscores a troubling trend within the governing party, where arrogance appears to have supplanted prudent governance.
Guilbeault, with his checkered past and continued ignorance of the law since becoming Minister, are crippling public confidence.
A few months ago, we launched a petition calling on Justin Trudeau to see the light, and fire his most controversial Minister.
Since then, things have only gotten worse.
If you agree, and think Guilbeault should be fired, please sign our petition today:
Then, send this petition to your friends, family, and every Albertan so that they can sign too!
Regards,
The Free Alberta Strategy Team
Alberta
Fortis et Liber: Alberta’s Future in the Canadian Federation
From the C2C Journal
By Barry Cooper, professor of political science, University of Calgary
Canada’s western lands, wrote one prominent academic, became provinces “in the Roman sense” – acquired possessions that, once vanquished, were there to be exploited. Laurentian Canada regarded the hinterlands as existing primarily to serve the interests of the heartland. And the current holders of office in Ottawa often behave as if the Constitution’s federal-provincial distribution of powers is at best advisory, if it needs to be acknowledged at all. Reviewing this history, Barry Cooper places Alberta’s widely criticized Sovereignty Act in the context of the Prairie provinces’ long struggle for due constitutional recognition and the political equality of their citizens. Canada is a federation, notes Cooper. Provinces do have rights. Constitutions do mean something. And when they are no longer working, they can be changed.
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