Alberta's deputy premier slams 'unified command' snub by feds during Jasper wildfire

Mike Ellis on Monday told a federal committee looking into the fire that provincial authorities should have had more decision-making power

OTTAWA — Alberta’s number two elected official said on Monday that provincial authorities should have had more decision-making power when a wildfire ripped through Jasper National Park in July.

Speaking virtually to a parliamentary committee investigating the summer blaze, Alberta Deputy Premier Mike Ellis said that the province was kept at arms length by a unified command joining Parks Canada and the Town of Jasper.