Conservatives Condemn Cuts To Wildfire Response

July 23, 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ottawa, ON - Blake Richards, Conservative Shadow Minister for Emergency Preparedness and Community Resilience, released the following statement on reports of Liberal cuts to the Government Operations Centre:

"As communities across Canada face another dangerous wildfire season, Canadians are right to be concerned that half the positions at the federal Government Operations Centre (GOC), which helps protect Canadians from forest fires, have been cut.

"Canadians also learned that at least 17 Natural Resources Canada employees who support satellite wildfire mapping have been given 'workforce-adjustment notices', raising the spectre of further losses.

"For years before the devastating 2024 blaze that destroyed one-third of Jasper, Conservatives warned the government about the dangers and called for mechanical harvesting, clearing and prescribed burns. The Liberals instead chose to do nothing.

"And earlier this month, the Globe and Mail reported that the Liberals 'quietly disbanded the team behind the country's upgraded weather radar network'.

"The first thing a government should do is keep citizens safe. Canadians expect their government to strengthen emergency preparedness, not weaken the teams responsible for coordinating the federal response when their lives, homes, and communities are at risk.

"Conservatives will always fight to prioritize real readiness over Liberal illusions, including through immediate mechanical clearing and localized prescribed fires, ending caused by overlapping command between Parks Canada and provincial ministries, and empowering local and Indigenous communities."