Following devastating floods and wildfires in the province last year, British Columbians are living the effects of extreme weather driven by climate change. In partnership with the province of British Columbia and Indigenous communities, the Government of Canada is making historic investments to keep people safe when disaster hits, and ensure communities are built to cope with extreme weather.
Today, following the fifth and final meeting of the Committee of British Columbia and Federal Ministers on Disaster Response and Climate Resilience, the Honourable Bill Blair, President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, announced advance payments of over $870 million to the Government of British Columbia through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) to support flood, landslide and storm recovery efforts in the province. This is in addition to the $207 million in support for wildfire recovery efforts that was announced in June.
The Committee, co-chaired by Minister Blair and Minister Mike Farnworth, British Columbia's Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, discussed the important progress that has been made to-date. Recognizing the disproportionate impact that natural disasters have on Indigenous communities, the Committee's work was enhanced by the contributions of the First Nations Leadership Council and the valuable discussions about the importance of incorporating traditional knowledge into emergency management. This knowledge is critical to Canada's emergency response and readiness framework, and will continue to be central to informing this work moving forward.
In addition to the DFAA payments, the governments of Canada and British Columbia and the First Nations Leadership Council are working to build a trilateral agreement on emergency management. This agreement will strengthen First Nations' capacity to respond to and recover from future climate-related disasters.
The federal government is committed to supporting Canadians whose lives are affected by emergencies, helping communities prepare for the realities of increased climate-related risks and disasters, and, ultimately, increasing our resiliency.
