OTTAWA, May 9, 2019 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada recognizes the often-devastating impacts flooding can have on the lives of Canadians and believes in supporting communities as they pull together to recover from natural disasters.
Today, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, spoke with other federal ministers and provincial ministers and officials from Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick to discuss flood recovery efforts.
The Government of Canada's priority is ensuring Canadians are safe and supported. This means working closely with provincial and territorial partners to coordinate the response efforts to natural disasters by ensuring provinces and territories have the resources they need.
The meeting focused on the current flooding situations in the three affected provinces, the availability of federal funding to support post-flood needs, and the short and long-term requirements for recovery in the regions. As needed, this includes a federal commitment to swiftly provide early financial assistance via an advance payment to provinces through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA). Minister Goodale encouraged his colleagues to use the innovative recovery provisions under the DFAA to support relocations to less disaster-prone areas and remove vulnerable structures that were damaged during the floods
By working together with provinces, territories, and emergency management partners, including municipalities, Indigenous leaders and communities, the Government of Canada is committed to moving towards a more sustainable and resilient Canada that is better equipped to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters.
This commitment is outlined in the recently released Emergency Management Strategy for Canada: Toward A More Resilient 2030. Commitments made in Budget 2019 will also help to deliver on its priority areas for action.
The Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, which is also aligned with this strategy, provides provinces and territories funding for large scale infrastructure projects to help reduce the impacts of future disasters.
Quotes
"Providing relief and recovering from the after-math of this year's spring flooding is a long-term proposition, and we are committed to providing the necessary assistance to get people through this difficult time. We will continue collaborating with all levels of government to provide the necessary assistance for everyone affected, be it through federal programming or infrastructure support."
‑ The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
"The Canadian Armed Forces will continue to support flood relief efforts in Ontario and Quebec for as long as people and property are threatened. Across the country, our women and men in uniform helped their communities during this difficult time and I thank them for the hard work they have done over the past weeks."
‑ The Honourable Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defence
"Infrastructure in flood-affected areas in Ontario, Quebec and New Brunswick will need to be repaired in the aftermath of the flooding. Through infrastructure investments, we are actively engaging with provinces and municipalities to support communities and Canadians as they move forward in rebuilding their homes and businesses, while creating good middle-class jobs and supporting a strong economy. This is vitally important for communities dealing with the effects of extreme weather events."
‑ The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities
Quick Facts
- The Government of Canada supports provincial governments through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) to cover the costs associated with long term recovery and rebuilding in the affected communities. The DFAA also includes a cost-share component for mitigation enhancements undertaken to reduce vulnerability to future emergencies. The total amount eligible for cost-sharing is limited to 15% of the total roll-up of eligible recovery costs associated with repair and/or reconstruction of damaged public and private infrastructure.
- In addition, the DFAA program provides an innovative recovery provision which includes any solution that reduces or prevents damages from recurring up to an equivalent of the cost of repairing or replacing actual damaged infrastructure. PTs may also use any portion of the total 15% mitigation enhancement value of a specific event towards an innovative solution.
- Through the recently released first-ever Emergency Management Strategy for Canada, the Government of Canada is committed to working with provincial and territorial partners to better identify, plan for and reduce the impact of weather-related emergencies and natural disasters on Canadians.
- The National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP) provided funding for 363 flood mitigation projects across Canada. This program helped to address rising flood risks and costs, and built the foundation for informed mitigation investments to reduce, or even negate, the effects of flood events.
- Looking forward, the federal government's infrastructure programming includes the $2 billion, ten-year Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF), which is making transformative investments in provincial and community projects that will make public infrastructure more resilient to the impacts of climate change and better able to withstand damaging and deepening cycles of storms, floods, droughts and wildfires.
- On May 3, 2019, the Government of Canada announced a $2.5 million grant to the Canadian Red Cross to support recovery efforts in flood affected communities.
- For more information on the Government of Canada response to the Spring 2019 floods, visit Canada.ca.
Associated Links
- Spring Floods 2019
- Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements
- National Disaster Mitigation Program
- Emergency Management Strategy for Canada: Toward a Resilient 2030
SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
(media only), please contact: Scott Bardsley, Manager of Media and Communications, Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, 613-998-5681, [email protected]; Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 613-991-0657, [email protected]
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