Whereas in early history, settlements occurred by waterways to provide for the transportation of people and goods; And whereas these settlements have become the villages, towns and cities of today; And whereas many of these communities are threatened by the potential of catastrophic flooding; And whereas small communities with relatively low tax bases are heavily dependent on senior government grants for flood protection as well as other infrastructure; And whereas grant programmes are heavily subscribed resulting in long approval processes and a shortage of grant money; And whereas there is a need for more funds dedicated to flood prevention in a more expedient manner: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM lobby both the provincial and federal governments for small community priority funding of flood prevention capital projects.
Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General Government is committed to funding capital flood mitigation projects for small communities. In the last three years, the ministry has funded 122 community-led flood mitigation projects, of which 72 were for small communities. Several flood and disaster mitigation funding programs are supported by the provincial and federal governments, including: - Rural and Northern Communities Program; - Community Emergency Preparedness Fund; - Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund; and - National Disaster Mitigation Program Geographic distribution and community size are considered in the technical evaluation of proposals under these funding programs. In addition, the Province continues to implement regionally significant initiatives that support community-led projects, such as climate change impacts on flooding and collection of topographic data. Ministry staff will continue to consider the specific challenges faced by small communities in accessing current and future flood mitigation funding programs. In addition, ministry staff are available to support communities in application development.
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Since flooding is Canadas costliest hazard, Public Safety Canada PS launched the National Disaster Mitigation Program NDMP in 2015 with the objective of reducing the impacts of floods by focusing investments on significant, recurring flood risks. Provincial and territorial governments are eligible for funding under the NDMP, and can redistribute funds to other levels of government, public sector bodies, and band councils, to name a few. As you may know, the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund DMAFt launched by Infrastructure Canada INFC in May 2018, is investing 2 billion to support the national, provincial, and municipal infrastructure required to deal with the effects of a changing climate. This program will support changing and reinforcing existing and new public infrastructure to help address climate risks and protect communities from natural disasters. PS is working closely with INFC, and other federal partners, to ensure coordinated action and to strengthen the linkages between the DMAF and the NDMP. Minister of Infrastructure and Communities In consideration of the resolution passed concerning flood prevention capital projects, you or your members may be interested in submitting a proposal to the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. The Fund is a 10-year, 2-billion national program designed to help communities better withstand current and future risks related to natural hazards. The projects funded under this competitive, merit-based program will increase the resilience of Canadian communities to the negative impacts of weather-related events and safeguard the continuity of their services. The Applicant Guide for the Fund provides information on the application requirements and the project evaluation process, including the nature and type of information required to submit a complete application. The Applicant Guide can be found on Infrastructure Canadas website at www.infrastructure.gc.ca. While the timing of the second intake has not been confirmed, I would encourage you to review our website for details. Flood prevention capital projects are also eligible under the Green Infrastructure stream of the Integrated Bilateral Agreements. Under the new Agreement, proposed projects must first be prioritized by British Columbia before they are submitted to Infrastructure Canada for consideration. I would encourage you to submit your proposals to the Province of British Columbia so that it may determine whether the project should be prioritized for funding consideration under the Green Infrastructure stream. In addition, under the Gas Tax Fund, disaster mitigation is an eligible category for investment, provided that the municipality, who is the ultimate recipient under that program, chooses to apply its allocation to this project.