Monday’s announcement allowing thousands of residents re-entry into the municipality of Jasper, many of them UNE members working at the Jasper National Park, is the first step in a long road ahead of healing and recovery. It will be the first time for many of them to face the damages and devastation to their community. The park remains closed to the public, as the initial re-entry is for residents only.
Our members working and living within Jasper, know UNE has been in close communication with the employer ever since the wildfire started. The main topics discussed have been the safety of our members and their families, the provisions in place to support them while displaced, communication, and mental health. The employer has allocated resources to support those affected by the wildfires.
A FAQ has been distributed. Please reach out to your Local executive if you have not received it. It contents valuable information about:
- General information and financial supports
- Government of Alberta supports
- Red Cross supports and information
- Questions on impacts to PCA Staff and Staff Housing
- Questions regarding travel situations
- Questions regarding general HR situations
- Questions regarding pay
- Questions about staffing
- Questions on Health support
For health support specifically, the following resources are available:
- The Employee Family and Assistance Program (EFAP) crisis line is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-268-7708 (or TTY 1-800-567-5803). The call centre is aware of the context in Jasper National Park and can provide immediate support. If employees are not in a crisis, the call centre will make the arrangement to have a counsellor contact you within five business days to set up a free appointment (up to 12 hours of counselling per issue) in person or virtually. They can also book an appointment by live chat (password: canada), Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. (MT).
- In addition to EFAP, The First Nations and Inuit Hope for Wellness Helpline is available at 1-855-242-3310 for Indigenous members and their families.
- For those remaining to support fire management efforts in Jasper at this time, please know that there are two mental health professionals (MHP) coordinated with the Health Canada Psychosocial Response and Extended Counselling (PREC) team on site with incident command, to support all Parks Canada employees. Employees who are not part of the fire crews can request to meet or talk to the MHP by contacting them directly. The MHPs will be on rotation in Hinton and neighbouring sites every two weeks until the end of September.
- Additional mental health support may be requested at any time and coordinated with the Parks Canada Wellness team at mieuxetre-wellness@pc.gc.ca and the Health Canada PREC team at PRECGeneral.CPRPGeneral@hc-sc.gc.ca.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to your regional and national teams to advise us of any challenges regarding your employment while displaced so that we may raise them with the employer as soon as possible.