Canada has spent more on disaster relief in six years than it did in the previous 39 and it should prepare for extreme weather in the future, said environment commissioner Julie Gelfand. In delivering her spring audit, she said the Canadian government “has not adequately supported long-term efforts to make Canada’s infrastructure more resilient to a changing climate.”
Little spent on mitigation so far
Three mitigation programs exist but Gelfand said that from 2011 to 2015 the provinces and territories made little use of them. She added that studies show that funds spent on mitigation saves money in the long term. For example, $63 million was spent to build the Red River Floodway in Manitoba in 1960 and it was estimated to have saved $8 billion by 2008.
In its first budget, the new Liberal government set aside $120 million for new and existing infrastructure. Gelfand says it should persuade other levels of government “to invest in projects designed to mitigate the impacts of severe weather.”
The audit points out that maps of floodplains have not been adequately updated in two decades and that building codes may not be tough enough to protect edifices in the future. Gelfand says decision-makers need better ways to predict extreme events like ice storms, hail, tornadoes, drought, flash floods and forest fires
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