Canadians will get their say on how to adapt to climate change
CBC
As spring flooding devastates communities in Western and Northern Canada, the federal government is calling on Canadians to offer their ideas for adapting to climate-related disasters.
Ottawa is in the final stages of completing the country's first-ever national adaptation strategy. On Monday, it launched a public engagement process to hear from Canadians on how communities and businesses will live with and minimize the impacts of floods, heat domes, wildfires and similar disasters.
In a news release, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault called adapting to climate change "a two-front war" and said businesses and communities must "play both offence and defence" to lower emissions and find ways to lessen the impact of global warming.
"We must reduce carbon pollution and we must prepare for the impacts of climate change," Guilbeault said.
Canadians have witnessed all sorts of severe weather in recent years. Last summer, extreme heat in B.C drove a deadly heat wave and forest fires destroyed the town of Lytton, B.C. Relentless rain then pounded southern B.C. in November, flooding communities and washing away roads and bridges.
More recently, record flooding in central and southern Manitoba has put the issue of climate adaptation front and centre.
The government is framing the launch of its three-month online consultation with these disasters in mind.
Guilbeault said the adaptation strategy could consider measurable targets — by, for example, estimating how many fewer Canadians would be affected by flooding or forest fires due to identified measures.
Background documents the government shared also suggest the strategy could lead to standardizing the emergency alert system, expanding the network of first responders investing in equipment and designing roads, railways and other infrastructure to be more resilient.
A discussion paper released today as well suggests some things that could be included in the government's adaptation plan: relocating people from high-flood-risk areas; standardizing the emergency alert system; expanding the network of first responders; and investing in equipment and designing roads, railways and other infrastructure to be more resilient.
Although the discussion paper doesn't go into as much detail, it points to a role for the health care system and for nature-based climate solutions, such as tree planting or restoring vegetation. There's also no mention of how much it will cost to make the changes required, or whether the public or private sector would absorb the costs.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada, a trade association that represents the industry, estimates that it would cost the Canadian economy around $5 billion annually to deal with severe weather damage driven by climate change.
Craig Stewart, IBC's vice-president of climate change and federal issues, said those costs would have to shared by insurers, banks, property owners and governments.
"The challenge is too large for governments to take on for themselves," said Stewart. "It doesn't have to be borne by governments."
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.