Parliamentary Committee Notes: Mitigating Disaster Risks
Issue
Reducing disaster risk through pro-active investments in prevention/mitigation.
Proposed Response
- Climate change-driven hazards, such as floods and wildfires, represent a mounting threat to the safety of Canadians and the economic viability of Canadian businesses and communities.
- Even during these challenging economic times, our government continues to deliver on our commitment to build safer and more resilient communities and to safeguard all Canadians from disasters.
- The Government of Canada has provided several investments to support coordinated, whole-of-government efforts to protect Canadians, including vulnerable populations, and to enhance our ability to mitigate and recover from the effects of natural hazards, including extreme weather events caused by climate change.
- Through Budget 2022, the Government of Canada committed to investing over $500 million to support provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities in wildfire management.
- Additionally, Budget 2024 proposed doubling the Volunteer Firefighters Tax Credit and the Search and Rescue Volunteers' Credit, and invested $800,000 towards the International Association of Fire Fighters to help build wildfire-fighting capacity and enhance training best practices, with a focus on the wildland-urban interface.
- Furthermore, $166 million was provided in support of First Nations emergency management and preparedness to better protect their communities, homes, and essential infrastructure from climate disasters, as well as to advance the First Nations Fire Protection Strategy.
- The Government has taken several steps to ensure that Canadians are better protected and better able to recover from flood events, including key Budget 2023 investments of $95.1 million to develop a flood risk communication portal, improve flood insurance coverage, identify high-risk flood areas, and implement a modernized Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) program.
- As well, Budget 2024 provided $7 million for the Meteorological Service of Canada's early warning system for extreme weather events, with a focus on floods and storm surges.
Background
Climate change-driven hazards, such as floods and wildfires, are increasing in frequency and cost, posing significant threats to Canadian communities and businesses. To manage rising disaster costs, Canada is shifting from a reactive, government-focused model to a proactive, whole-of-society approach, emphasizing disaster risk reduction, prevention, and mitigation.
Mitigation involves proactive actions to reduce or eliminate disaster risks, protecting lives, property, and the environment while minimizing economic disruption. International studies report high benefit-cost ratios for mitigation, ranging from $3:1 (Australia) to $10:1 (World Bank). Mitigation includes structural (e.g., floodways, dykes) and non-structural (e.g., building codes, land-use planning, insurance incentives) measures.
Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA)
In 2008, the Government introduced criteria under the DFAA allowing provinces and territories to allocate 15% of infrastructure damage costs for mitigative enhancements during rebuilding. Five disaster events have used DFAA funding for mitigative enhancements, with more active files incorporating these improvements. Provinces and territories have until their final DFAA payment request to submit claims for mitigative enhancements.
The DFAA program underwent a review, and in March 2022, an external Advisory Panel was appointed. The panel's final report, published in April 2023, recommended aligning the program with the Emergency Management Strategy. Budget 2023 provided $48.1 million to implement a modernized DFAA program, approved by Treasury Board in March 2024. The updated program focuses on strategic federal investments in disaster risk reduction, resilience building, and support for vulnerable populations.
Wildfires Mitigation Investments
In 2022, the Government enhanced wildfire mitigation efforts, supporting provinces, territories, and Indigenous communities. Key initiatives included $269 million for firefighting equipment, $39.2 million for First Nations firefighting gear, $37.9 million to train 1,000 additional firefighters, and $169.9 million for a new wildfire monitoring satellite system.
Following the record-breaking 2023 wildfire season, Budget 2024 allocated $145.2 million over five years to Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada to strengthen climate resilience and deploy structural mitigation strategies. This includes $10.4 million for Modern Treaty and Self-Governing First Nations and $20.9 million over three years for the First Nations Fire Protection Strategy (2023-2028).
Additionally, Budget 2024 provided $800,000 to Natural Resources Canada to continue partnering with the International Association of Fire Fighters to enhance wildfire fighting capacity and training best practices, building on existing commitments to train 1,000 wildland firefighters.
Emergency Management Strategy for Canada
In 2019, Federal, Provincial, and Territorial (FPT) Ministers Responsible for Emergency Management approved Canada's first-ever FPT Emergency Management Strategy for Canada (EM Strategy), setting priorities to strengthen resilience by 2030. The EM Strategy guides FPT governments and Emergency Management (EM) partners in assessing risks and enhancing disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. The strategy focuses on five priorities: whole-of-society collaboration, understanding disaster risks, disaster prevention and mitigation, disaster response capacity, and recovery efforts.
To advance these priorities, FPT Ministers directed Senior Officials Responsible for Emergency Management (SOREM) to develop an Action Plan. This plan, entitled "Advancing the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Emergency Management Strategy: Areas for Action" approved by FPT Ministers in February 2024, outlines concrete steps to enhance disaster resilience across Canada.
Flood Insurance and Relocation
The December 2021 mandate letter for the Minister for Emergency Preparedness committed to creating a low-cost national flood insurance program for high-risk homeowners and developing strategies to lower insurance premiums and protect communities from climate impacts. A task force led by Public Safety Canada, established in January 2021, brought together FPT governments and the insurance industry to explore insurance and relocation options. The findings were published in the August 2022 report "Adapting to Rising Flood Risk: An Analysis of Insurance Solutions for Canada."
Building on this work, Budget 2023 announced $31.7 million over three years for Public Safety Canada and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to develop a low-cost flood insurance program and $15.3 million to create a publicly accessible online portal for flood risk information. Budget 2024 further committed to establishing a CMHC subsidiary to deliver flood reinsurance and allocated $15 million to advance the national flood insurance program by 2025.
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