Governments of Canada and Ontario Announce Funding for Flood Mitigation Project

SUDBURY, Ontario, Oct. 12 -- Public Safety Canada issued the following news release:

Flooding is Canada's costliest and most frequent natural disaster. Today, Paul Lefebvre, Member of Parliament for Sudbury, on behalf of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, announced $180,000 in federal funding to Ontario under the National Disaster Mitigation Program to better plan for and protect against the effects of flooding.

The Government of Canada cost-shares up to 50 per cent of eligible expenses for provincial projects and 75 per cent of eligible expenses for territorial projects. Provincial and territorial authorities may collaborate with, and redistribute funding to, eligible entities such as municipal or other local governments. By utilizing targeted reserves accumulated through the municipal tax levy, the Conservation Sudbury is contributing $180,000 in matching funding for this project.

This two-year project, starting in 2018, will support updated floodplain mapping of the Junction Creek watershed - last updated 38 years ago - by Conservation Sudbury. These updated maps and models will provide the City of Greater Sudbury and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation with a valuable tool to help guide land-use policies and decisions. Identifying the boundaries of a potential flood event is critical to support informed investments to reduce the impacts of flooding on the over 3500 properties located either partially or completely in the floodplains of Junction Creek.

The Government of Canada is committed to working with provincial and territorial partners on a disaster relief approach that will allow us to better identify, plan for and reduce the impact of weather-related emergencies and natural disasters on Canadians.

Quotes

"Weather-related natural disasters are getting more severe, more frequent, more damaging and more expensive. This is a threat not only to the safety of our communities, but to our economic stability. The Government of Canada is determined to reduce these risks in partnership with provinces and territories. I welcome this funding as it will equip the City of Greater Sudbury and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation with the tools needed to expand the mapping of flood-prone areas in our community to reduce the impacts of flooding and increase our overall disaster resiliency."- Paul Lefebvre, Member of Parliamentary for Sudbury, on behalf of the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"This funding provided by Public Safety Canada enables Conservation Sudbury to update mapping that is nearly 40 years old. Much has changed in the Junction Creek watershed since the floodplain was first delineated. New technologies will be applied to recent data collected by the City of Greater Sudbury and the Province of Ontario that will allow dynamic models to be produced based on complete, highly-accurate mapping. This is a valuable capacity-building opportunity that both the City and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation will benefit from over the long term."- Lin Gibson, Chairperson, Conservation Sudbury

Quick facts

* The NDMP reflects an investment of $200 million over five years, of which $183 million is available for cost-shared, merit-based projects with provinces and territories to reduce the impacts of natural disasters.

* Since the launch of the NDMP in 2015, the NDMP has approved funding for 273 projects across Canada that are helping to build safer, more resilient communities.

* Through the NDMP, the Government of Canada is helping to address rising flood risks and costs, and build the foundation for informed investments that could reduce, or even negate, the effects of flood events. Funding is available for risk assessments, flood mapping, mitigation planning and small scale mitigation projects such as storm culverts.

* In addition to investing in provincial and territorial flood mitigation projects through the NDMP, the Government of Canada:

* is investing in public awareness activities and risk and resiliency tools like the Federal Flood Mapping Guidelines, to help all levels of government to make informed decisions around flood mitigation;

* has created a new $2 billion federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund to support the infrastructure required to deal with the effects of a changing climate; and

* is integrating climate resilience into the National Building Code and conducting research to factor climate resilience into the design of buildings.

* According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, insured damage in 2016 topped $4.9 billion - passing the previous annual record of $3.2 billion set in 2013--and that the annual economic cost of disasters around the world has increased five-fold since the 1980s. Flooding damage has accounted for 80 per cent federal disaster assistance payments over the past 20 years.

* Studies have demonstrated that when structural and non-structural investments are implemented in concert, the result is a 6:1 return on investment.