Public Safety Canada: Federal Support for Four New Brunswick Flood Mitigation Projects

OTTAWA, Ontario, May 24 -- 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, Matt DeCourcey, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Minister for Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness the Honourable Ralph Goodale, announced $669,000 in federal funding to support work on four projects in New Brunswick under the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP). Additionally, the City of Fredericton and the City of Saint John have partnered with New Brunswick to provide $686,250 in support of these projects.

Of the four projects announced today:

One will provide funding for the creation of a city-wide risk profile for the City of Fredericton, including the completion of risk assessments to identify flood hazards, potential impacts, and community and infrastructure vulnerabilities for a total of $172,250;

One will help the City of Saint John plan to mitigate against future flooding events to ensure public safety and access to critical municipal services for a total of $81,500;

One will help fund flood proofing upgrades of the Musquash Water Pumping Station in the City of Saint John for a total of $461,500;

One will involve the replacement of the Corbert Brook Culvert to ensure a reliable potable water connection in the City of Fredericton for a total of $640,000.

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

Through the recently released 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.

Quotes

"This spring, New Brunswick residents witnessed first-hand the how weather-related natural disasters are getting more severe, more frequent, more damaging and more expensive due to climate change. The Government of Canada is making significant investments to help New Brunswick better prepare for and respond to flood risks. In Fredericton, a better understanding of flooding risks will make a real difference for residents."

* Matt DeCourcey, Member of Parliament for Fredericton, on behalf of the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

"Flooding is a serious issue in New Brunswick. Mitigation efforts are important, and no single change will be enough to completely reduce the threat. These four projects - two flood-mitigation studies, an engineering redesign to improve a critical piece of infrastructure and a watercourse-crossing enhancement - are prime examples of steps being taken to improve the safety of residents and to reduce the impact to properties. The investments being announced today will save money and help protect homes and infrastructure tomorrow."

* The Honourable Ross Wetmore, Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, on behalf of the Honourable Carl Urquhart, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General

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.