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OTTAWA — The federal Liberal government is yet to appoint a new one point person at Jasper following Alberta MP Randy Boissonnault’s resignation from cabinet, but says rebuilding the fire-ravaged Alberta city remains a top priority.

“Several members of our caucus are committed to the act,” a senior government official told the National Post. “We will continue to coordinate recovery efforts with provincial and local officials.”

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Boissonnault, the only Albertan in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet until Wednesday, called minister for Jasper in October.

He said at the time that this was an important role for him to take on as the province’s lone federal minister.

“As Alberta’s minister, it’s really important that I can do that work with a number of ministers at the provincial level so that we can get the work done,” Boissonnault told reporters in Ottawa.

Boissonnault was put in charge of a cabinet-level task force on Jasper, and subsequently oversaw the distribution of more than 20 million dollars of federal aid to the municipality.

Jasper Mayor Richard Ireland said Wednesday he was sad to see Boissonnault step down from the role.

“We are disappointed to lose Minister Boissonnault as federal minister for Jasper recovery,” Ireland wrote in an email. “He immersed himself in our ongoing challenges and was an engaged, active and an effective advocate on our behalf.”

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The conservative opposition was less concerned about the vacuum created by Boissonnault’s departure.

“Trudeau’s government was warned repeatedly but allowed Jasper to go up in flames after years of ignoring obvious serious fire risks. After nearly a decade of neglect, it doesn’t matter which Liberal is chosen to replace Trudeau’s phony advisers,” the conservative emergency response critic said Dane Lloyd on Wednesday.

Alberta Municipalities Minister Ric McIver, the provincial leader for Jasper, declined to comment on Boissonnaut’s resignation.

City of Jasper lost a third of its structures in July after a wildfire that started in nearby federal parks jumped the Columbia River, forcing some 25,000 to escape the area.

The disaster came after experts for years warned of the possibility of a “catastrophic fire” in the area, raising several questions about the federal government’s forestry practices, including its failure to remove thousands of pine beetle ravaged dead trees from the area.

House of Commons appoint a committee to investigate the causes of the fire in September.

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Boissonnault’s resignation from the cabinet task force on Jasper leaves six remaining members, including Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault, Housing Minister Sean Fraser and Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan.

Guilbeault is also the minister responsible for Parks Canada.

Liberal officials would not say what role Boissonnault will have in the Jasper file as a rank-and-file member of the party’s caucus.

The prime minister said in a statement on Wednesday that veterans minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor would temporarily assume Boissonnault’s responsibilities as employment minister and minister responsible for official languages.

Petitpas Taylor’s office told the National Post on Thursday that she will not be taking on the role of chief minister for Jasper.

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