QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Climate Change Adaptation Initiatives
March 3, 2022
Good afternoon, minister.
My question involves municipalities. As we have seen in the last number of years, cities and municipalities are often the first responders in terms of crisis; crisis which often is related to climate change and has impact on critical infrastructure often owned and operated by municipalities.
What plans do you have to make sure that municipalities are full partners from the outset of these emergencies? If you could speak around full, clear communications with municipalities, that would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you, senator, for your question. I was talking earlier about the National Adaptation Strategy, and there is no doubt in my mind that we can’t do that without municipalities at the table. In fact, just two weeks ago, I was having a meeting specifically on that with the Canadian Federation of Municipalities. We have already started engaging with them on that, but we want them to be at the table for the elaboration of that National Adaptation Strategy.
We have already started investing in adaptation measures with municipalities. I will give the example of an investment that Infrastructure Canada made for the creation of a new urban park on the West Island of Montreal. Obviously, it’s a park, but one of the interesting features of that park is that it will help with flood mitigation during the spring in that part of the island of Montreal, where we have recurring floods year after year. The park has an adaptation and preparedness element embedded in it. Projects like that are becoming more and more common, and we’re doing those with municipalities.
Thank you.
