‘The people are desperate’: Jasper residents protest lack of promised housing

Residents affected by the wildfire want the government to support interim housing. CTV News Edmonton's Silvana Benolich reports.

People in Jasper took to the streets Friday, calling on the province to follow through with the promise to build interim housing while the town recovers from last year’s wildfires.

In July, fires tore through the town of Jasper and the surrounding areas.

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Residents returned to find around a third of the structures in town – both homes and businesses – were destroyed.

In October, Alberta committed millions for the construction of 250 modular homes in Jasper. The goal was to have them ready for renting in January.

• Alberta commits $112M to build 250 modular homes in Jasper

“I could just imagine the frustration of living in a hotel room and not having anywhere to go, the people are desperate,” said Karyn Decore, the owner of the Maligne Lodge, which was destroyed.

“Last night, I went for dinner with some friends of mine from Jasper … and the owner of the restaurant and their family have nowhere to live. They lost their home, so they’re living at the Jasper Inn and trying to run a business without anything in sight.”

Earlier this week, the province the money would be taken away if Parks Canada and the local government did not agree to use it to build detached, single-family homes.

• Alberta funding for Jasper housing rebuild ‘can’t be spent’ amid impasse: minister

More than 600 families are waiting for interim housing in Jasper, with many currently living in hotels.

“Without those essential workers and those people we need, there will be no town,” Decore said.

Many protesters at Friday’s rally placed the blame for the housing issues at the province’s feet, according to Decore. She said the issue is a shared one between all three levels of government and Parks Canada.

“I spoke to a gentleman who owns L and W … he put in a permit to have his house rebuilt four months ago with Parks Canada - hasn’t even gotten so much as a response,” Decore said. “All he wants to do is rebuild his home. It’s cleared, it’s ready to go, no response.

“These are the kind of issues that people here are dealing with and there’s a huge sense of frustration and sadness.”

The province says they have not been given enough land to work with and have had “radio silence from Ottawa” for months.

“There has to be some zoning changes and some changes to the park to deal with these issues, but nothing can happen in Parliament until it meets again,” Decore said.

“The Parks Canada team working here … they can only do what they’re allowed to do under regulations, but they’re not allowed to change the laws.”

Jasper National Park is under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

“Canada needs to know what a serious situation Jasper’s in right now,” said Decore.

Parks Canada has secured around 100 units of oilfield-style trailers to be installed as soon as possible, but that is not enough for all displaced residents.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Silvana Benolich and Miriam Valdes-Carletti