Parliamentary Committee Notes: Committee of British Columbia and Federal Ministers on Disaster Response and Climate Resilience
Date: May 11, 2022
Classification: Unclassified
Fully releasable (ATIP)? Yes
Branch / Agency: PCO
Proposed Response:
- Throughout British Columbia and in other parts of the country, floods, landslides, wildfires, and extreme weather conditions are affecting the lives and livelihoods of thousands of Canadians. The Government of Canada recognizes that we must take strong action together to protect Canadians and build a better and more resilient future.
- In November 2021, the Prime Minister and British Columbia Premier John Horgan announced a new committee of federal and provincial ministers who are working with Indigenous leadership to guide immediate and ongoing response and recovery to the severe weather events experienced in British Columbia.
- The committee has been meeting to address key priorities for those impacted, including interim housing, Indigenous emergency management, infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries. A particular focus for the Committee is rebuilding infrastructure in a way that is more resilient to future climate change-related impacts.
- The committee had its first meeting last December 12 to take stock of work undertaken to that point, particularly with respect to interim housing for those displaced and urgent infrastructure needs to maintain local and national supply chains. At the Committee’s February 7 meeting, agriculture ministers highlighted their recent announcement of $228 million to support agricultural producers who were hit hard by the flooding in British Columbia.
- The committee most recently met in Vancouver on April 11, and discussed the specific impacts on First Nations communities, British Columbia’s approach to floodplain management, and how to most efficiently make progress on providing British Columbia with an interim payment under Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements to the provincial government.
- Further meetings are anticipated in late May/early June and late June/early July.
- In addition to helping British Columbians address their immediate needs, this Committee is working to create and advance an integrated approach to inform how all Canadian communities can take climate action to better prepare for, mitigate against, respond to and recover from extreme weather events.
Background
- Last November, the Prime Minister and British Columbia Premier John Horgan announced the appointment of the Committee of British Columbia and Federal Ministers on Disaster Response and Climate Resiliency to guide immediate and ongoing support to British Columbians affected by the extreme weather events. The committee includes representation from the First Nations Leadership Council.
- The mandate of the committee is to focus on increased collaboration on short-term actions and longer-term approaches within existing governance processes ensuring that ensure the people of British Columbia, including those in remote and Indigenous communities, have the immediate support and resources they needed to deal with the flooding faced by the province, and will also collaborate on recovery and rebuilding efforts, including by providing support to the sectors that have been most impacted by the crisis. The committee will work to build back from these extreme weather events in a way that better protects British Columbians from future climate events, creates cleaner and healthier communities, and supports Canada’s efforts in reaching its climate goals and net-zero emissions targets.
- Co-chaired by the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair and British Columbia Public Safety Minister and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth, the committee had its initial meeting last December 14, and considered several priorities, including interim housing for those displaced, Indigenous emergency management, infrastructure, and agriculture.
- At its second meeting on February 7, the committee received an update from the Canadian Red Cross on its efforts to support displaced individuals, and heard from the First Nations Leadership Council on the particular impacts experienced by First Nations communities, including housing and land base erosion. The committee also considered the significant work done by British Columbia to restore critical infrastructure and what remains to be completed. The committee also heard a presentation from Environment and Climate Change Canada on the climate forecast for British Columbia and how climate modelling can inform rebuilding efforts.
- The committee held its third meeting (and first in-person meeting) in Vancouver on April 11. Participants discussed the specific impacts on First Nations communities, British Columbia’s approach to floodplain management, and how to most efficiently make progress on providing British Columbia with an interim payment under Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements. Further meetings are anticipated in May/early June and June/early July.
- On the margins of the April 11 meeting, Minister Blair and Minister Farnworth also met with mayors of impacted municipalities to hear what their communities need to complete the rebuilding of their communities and how governments can expedite this work. They also met on April 12 in Abbotsford with the Emergency Planning Secretariat, an organization created to support a coordinated mainland Coast Salish-led flood management strategy, from Yale to Tsawwassen to Squamish. These meetings built on Minister Blair’s visit to Abbotsford and Merritt in March, when he met with community leaders to discuss their rebuilding efforts.
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