Funding for Dyking Flood Protection Measures

WHEREAS the majority of communities within the Province of British Columbia are situated in proximity to rivers, streams and waterbodies, many within floodplains and upon estuaries; AND WHEREAS there have been insufficient funds available to these communities to maintain and improve dykes and flood prevention measures, the consequences of which have been highlighted with the recent catastrophic events in the City of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast where hundreds of lives have been lost and billions of dollars in property damage incurred: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request that the provincial and federal governments develop a comprehensive and sustainable program for funding dykes and flood protection measures for communities in British Columbia.