Last July John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, named Doug McNeil as Special Advisor on Flooding and charged him with conducting an independent review of flood management and 2019 flooding events in Ontario. On November 28 the Ontario government issued a media release announcing the findings in McNeil’s Report which was delivered to the government on October 31.
The release states that in his review, Mr. McNeil confirmed that this year’s record setting flooding in many parts of the province was caused by a combination of weather conditions: colder-than-average winter and spring, higher-than-average snowpack, lack of significant winter thaw, rapid snow melt and significant rain events in the spring. He found that nothing pointed to human error or the negligent operation of water control structures as the cause of the flooding, and that the government and its partners were effective at reducing and mitigating flood risks.
Yakabuski said, “Mr. McNeil looked carefully at the core components of the Province’s approach to emergency management relative to last spring’s flood season and found that steps taken by individuals, municipalities, dam owners, and other agencies were effective in reducing further potential damage to communities. We are pleased by this conclusion, and we appreciate Mr. McNeil’s practical advice for the Province and other parties to help us to become more flood resilient.”
The release also points out that since the spring the government has taken steps to increase the province’s resiliency to flooding as follows:
- Initiated procurement for its first-ever broad, multi-sector provincial climate change impact assessment that will help the province, municipalities, Indigenous communities and other local partners make more informed decisions to keep communities and people healthy and safe.
- Opened the Green Stream infrastructure fund of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP), enabling smaller municipalities to access approximately $200 million in federal and provincial funding to invest in critical water, waste water and storm water projects.
- Launched a $1 million pilot project under the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program to help municipalities rebuild damaged infrastructure to make it more resilient to extreme weather.
- Made it faster for property owners to get the approvals they need to repair flood-related damage to shorelines.
Media Desk Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (2019,Nov.28) Ontario Releases Report from Special Advisor on Flooding [media release]
Photo cbc.ca
