Vaughan’s mayor: $16M federal funding to ‘strengthen resilience to climate change’

Infrastructure Canada funding will give city ‘peace of mind’ when severe weather conditions strike

Yorkregion.com
March 28, 2019
Dina Al-Shibeeb

Vaughan Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua has welcomed $16 million in federal funding to address the impacts of climate change.

Bevilacqua said in a statement on Tuesday, March 26, the funding from Infrastructure Canada will bolster the city’s ability to protect residents from natural hazards.

“The funding committed today will strengthen our resilience to climate change, while allowing Vaughan communities to better cope with severe weather events,” he said.

“These federal dollars, from the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, will help offset a portion of the costs, already committed by the city, to improve water quality of our creek system and to better manage the flood risk to vulnerable neighbourhoods.”

“Today’s federal-municipal partnership will further advance our Stormwater Retrofit program -- demonstrating Vaughan’s ongoing commitment to keep up with the servicing needs of our growing city," he added.

So far, Vaughan’s stormwater system currently includes more than 1,000 kilometres of pipes, more than 18,000 catch basins and 143 stormwater ponds.

He said the funding will give the city “peace of mind” when confronted with “severe weather” since it will allow access to “clean drinking water and ensure the roads connecting us to friends and family are well maintained.”

The fund is part of an overall $400 million worth of flood and storm mitigation projects.  The federal funding is $150 million while the municipal funding totals over $252 million.

On Tuesday, federal Infrastructure Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne told reporters at a news conference in north Toronto that Canadians and their governments need to adapt to the “sad and new and complex reality of climate change.”

Meanwhile, Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) has also welcomed the news alongside the City of Toronto, Regional Municipality of York, and the City of Markham.

IBC in a statement said Tuesday the storm with its damaging wind gusts, freezing rain and blizzard conditions that hit Ontario on Feb. 24 and 25 has caused over $48 million in insured damage.

In 2018 alone, insured losses from severe weather reached $1.3 billion in that province.

IBC said it’s not only insurers that foot the bill for severe weather damage but for every dollar that insurers pay out for home and business insurance claims, IBC estimates that the government pays out $3 to recover the public infrastructure that is damaged by severe weather.

"IBC and its members have advocated for and welcome the dedicated funding for stormwater infrastructure upgrades," said Don Forgeron, President and CEO, IBC. "The property and casualty insurance industry continues to see the devastating effects of this new era of an unpredictable, changing climate.

The $150 million federal funding is part of the Government of Canada's Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, a 10-year, $2 billion national program designed to help communities cope with current and future risks associated with natural hazards.