Public Safety Canada: Federal Support for 61 Ontario Flood Mitigation Projects

OTTAWA, Ontario, July 25 -- Public Safety Canada issued the following news release:

Flooding is Canada's costliest and most frequent natural disaster. Communities are looking for solutions to mitigate the costs and damages caused by flooding to businesses and residences. Today, the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, announced over $7.75 million in funding to support work on 61 new projects in Ontario under the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP).

Of the 61 projects announced today:

* 10 will provide funding for the completion of risk assessments to inform flood risks for a total of $803,502 in federal funding;

* 18 will help communities identify specific impacts of a flood event on structures and people through the development of flood maps and models for a total of $1,660,138 in federal funding;

* 13 will help communities plan to mitigate against future flood events for a total of $2,019,829;

* 7 will fund small-structural mitigation projects for a total of $2,062,487 in federal funding; and

* 13 will fund non-structural mitigation projects for a total of $1,212,319 in federal funding.

The Government of Canada cost-shares up to 50 per cent of eligible expenses for projects submitted by provinces and 75 per cent of eligible expenses for projects submitted by territories under the NDMP.

Since the launch of the NDMP in 2015, the Government of Canada has contributed almost $40 million under the program for 189 projects across the province.

Through the recently released Emergency Management Strategy for Canada, the Government of Canada is working with provincial and territorial partners to better identify, plan for and reduce the impact of weather-related emergencies and natural disasters on Canadians.

Quotes

"This spring, Ontario residents witnessed first-hand how weather-related natural disasters are getting more severe, more frequent, more damaging and more expensive due to climate change. Through the NDMP, the Government of Canada is committed to working with all of our partners to better identify, plan for and reduce the impact of weather-related emergencies and natural disasters. The projects announced today will provide the tools to help Ontario better protect the safety of our citizens and build safer and more resilient communities across the province."- The Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"Extreme spring flooding is happening more frequently in Ontario. It's costing Ontarians millions of dollars to repair the damage to their homes and businesses, along with local infrastructure like roads and bridges. Flood mitigation projects play an important role in protecting communities and reducing the damage caused by extreme weather events. Our government is pleased to help communities access funds through the National Disaster Mitigation Program to help protect Ontarians from future flood damage."- Steve Clark, Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing

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 363 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.

* 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 of 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 6:1 return on investment.