OTTAWA – This past spring, climate change has shown the North its devastating effects in the form of a massive flood that reached as far as Kenora to Thunder Bay and beyond. The damage to homes and business were extensive. The cost of damages took the people’s livelihoods and their mental health.
According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, “flooding is the most common and costly natural disaster, causing approximately $1.5 billion in damage to households, property, and infrastructure annually, with residential property owners bearing approximately 75 per cent of uninsured losses each year.”
A recent report from the federal government’s Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation will provide decision-makers with a way to install a new form of flood insurance based on high-risk assessments of locations.
"I thank the Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation for their vital report, which will provide us with the insights and information we need to move forward on making flood insurance available and affordable for Canadians living in high-risk areas,” said Bill Blair, President of the Queen's Privy Council and Minister of Emergency Preparedness. “Developing a national flood insurance program is a priority for our government and we will continue working with partners to give Canadians the financial protection they need."
The Task Force report takes into account some of the most affected areas which are the unorganized territories and First Nation communities. In May 2021, Indigenous Services Canada and the Assembly of First Nations launched the Steering Committee on First Nation Home Flood Insurance Needs, a complimentary initiative to examine the specific home flood insurance needs of First Nations on reserves. The final report was presented at the final Steering Committee meeting back in June of this year which was presented at the AFN Annual General Assembly on July 4. This work will inform future considerations and potential next steps related to flood insurance options on reserves.
"As we prepare for the increased impacts of climate change such as flooding, our Government is proactively taking steps to ensure communities are better supported and protected,” Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change. “A national flood insurance program is a concrete example of the kind of actions that will support the implementation of the National Adaptation Strategy that will help Canadians and communities be better prepared for climate change."
The report takes a decent step forward in outlining the federal government’s goal to reduce the impact of flood damage by including flood modelling and analysis of climate change in action.
According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, over the past 15 years, insurance claims from server weather have quadrupled. The wild weather across the nation has reached a cost of $2 billion annually. The Task Force on Flood Insurance and Relocation model could help approximately 800,000 homeowners in Canada whose homes are at such high risk of flooding where private insurance is either unavailable or unaffordable.
“The Government of Canada now has the fundamental research necessary to inform a national flood insurance program through a public-private partnership," said Craig Stewart, Vice-President, Climate Change and Federal Issues, IBC. "We thank Minister Blair for his ongoing leadership and engagement with our industry on this important file. The insurance industry has been and continues to be, on the front line of this issue, addressing the overwhelming financial risk to Canadians from the devastating impacts of flooding and climate change. Insurers across the country are in the best position to support the government and homeowners with the best possible public-private insurance program and are fully prepared to continue doing so. Today's report, which resulted from an unprecedented partnership between insurers and federal and provincial officials, demonstrates that."
To final out more about Adapting to Rising Flood Risk: An Analysis of Insurance solutions for Canada, click on the link.
