Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said on Wednesday that his ministry is not to blame for the fire that ripped through Jasper National Park this summer, devastating one-third of all structures in the Alberta mountain town, and that nothing could have been done to prevent it… Questions have been raised about whether the federal government, which oversees Jasper through Parks Canada, had done enough to prepare against a catastrophic wildfire, particularly given the amount of dead trees in the area, resulting from years of pine-beetle infestation. The environment minister told the committee that Jasper was one of Canada’s most “fire-prepared” communities before the 32,000-hectare blaze, which started in late July.

Additional coverage in Global News by Sean Boynton: Jasper wildfire: Minister urges ‘need to do more’ during heated testimony