Why $31.7M for national flood insurance in Budget 2023 is ‘just the start’
Global News
Hurricane Fiona, which battered Atlantic Canada last year, and the increasing instances of catastrophic weather demonstrate the need for a national flood insurance program.
The $31.7 million laid out in Budget 2023 for creating a national flood insurance program is just a first step, experts say, and Ottawa needs to act quickly to get the program into place as dangers rise.
“Obviously it’s just the start. The money that they’ve allocated is to stand up the program, basically to design and get it ready to go,” said Ryan Ness, adaptation research director at the Canadian Climate Institute.
“But the actual delivery of it will require much more time, and much more financial investment as well, to make it happen.”
Experts have long called for a national flood insurance program to be created to offset the costs Canadians face with more severe weather impacting the nation as a result of climate change.
As part of its 2023 budget, the federal government is earmarking $31.7 million over three years to Public Safety Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation to work with the finance department on creating a low-cost flood insurance program.
Its goal is protecting households at high risk of flooding and without access to adequate, affordable insurance, which is often prohibitively expensive.
The work would begin in 2023-24, and would include offering reinsurance — insurance for insurance companies — through a federal Crown corporation and a separate insurance subsidy program for Canadians, the government said.
It did not say when the program would be offered to Canadians, but work with relevant stakeholders on the issue and other evolving climate-related insurance challenges is ongoing.