DisastersCanada is not doing enough to prepare for, cope with natural, man-made disasters
The 2013 Alberta floods cost more than $6 billion, making it the worst weather disaster in Canada’s history. Before 1990, only three Canadian disasters exceeded $500 million, but in the past ten years alone nine disasters have exceeded that amount. Disaster management experts said that while it may be understandable that corporate and municipal budgets for disaster training and preparations have been reduced during the economic slowdown, corporate and government leaders in Canada must consider how such reductions would impact the ability of communities to build adequately resilience systems against potential natural and manmade disasters.
Before the 2009 economic downturn, about 1,000 participants attended the World Conference on Disaster Management (WCDM) in Ontario, Canada where academics and practitioners discussed new ideas and lessons learned in disaster management mitigation, planning, and solutions. In recent years, the number of participants has sharply declined to below 40 percent of that. While organizers knew that corporate training and conference budgets had been reduced, the larger concern was how a reduction in participation would impact the ability of communities to build adequately resilience systems against potential natural and manmade disasters.
A WCDM survey of individuals responsible for emergency planning found that a majority considered climate change a reality, 75 percent are concerned about the potential impact of extreme weather events on their organizations or communities, and more than 50 percent said their organizations had made little effort to develop programs to mitigate the impact of climate change.
“It says to me, without any doubt, that within the (community of) professionals and those who understand the risk of climate change, they don’t know what to do and they don’t have the funding to do anything. Where does that leave us? Not in a good place,” said Adrian Gordon, chair of the WCDM.
The Star reports that a recent UN-sponsored climate panel said Canada will experience the effects of global warming at a rate higher than the global average, noting that like most other countries, Canada is not prepared. Another report, from the National Climate Assessment, said climate change is a present threat already impacting lives. The most recent extreme weather events in Canada include the June 2013 Alberta floods and the July 2013 floods in Toronto, all indicators of a rapidly changing climate, said environmental change researcher John Smol of Queen’s University.
The Alberta floods cost more than $6 billion, making it the worst weather disaster in Canada’s history. Before 1990, only three Canadian disasters exceeded $500 million, but in the past ten years alone nine disasters have exceeded that amount. “In Canada, a recent spike in severe weather-related events — including severe rainstorms, tornadoes, flooding and forest fires — has resulted in social and economic consequences for individuals and governments across the country,” Gordon McBean of the Center for Environment and Sustainability at Western University said in a 2012 Insurance Bureau of Canada report.
Many emergency planners blame Canada’s federal government for the limited national effort toward preparation for climate change. “Adaptation and mitigation efforts are not being supported the way the global community is asking. In fact, Ottawa is going the opposite direction and supporting pipelines and oil sands,” said Richard Kinchlea, chair of the Emergency Management and Public Safety Institute at Centennial College.
In defense, Canada’s Ministry of Public Safety said the government is focusing more on proactive measures to cope with climate change without ignoring the traditional response and recovery approach. Jean Paul Duval, a ministry spokesperson, said Canada committed $200 million this year toward the development of a national disaster mitigation program, and another $40 million will be spent over five years to support mitigation programming on reserves. This is in addition to a previous $99.2 million commitment to disaster mitigation following the 2011 flooding in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec.
Paul Kovacs, the executive director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, applauds the announced investments but believes more should be done. Kovacs notes that emergency management does not offer a good return on investment, a key consideration when lawmakers allocate funds.
“It’s like insurance, you can pay and pay and if you never have a claim, what was it worth? Yes, the Lac-Mégantic derailment or Calgary floods show we need investment but really, for the most part, (we) can’t know when these things will happen. When the decision-makers look to invest money, they do it in places where they can see a return,” he said.
Few lawmakers consider disaster management a necessary expense, Kovacs said. “It is an unfortunate thing.”
