New report identifies priorities for protecting Canadians against flooding
Guelph, ON – A new report based on input from a wide range of stakeholders maps out steps in a journey toward making Canada more resilient to flooding
Guelph, ON – A new report based on input from a wide range of stakeholders maps out steps in a journey toward making Canada more resilient to flooding
By Media RelationsReleased today, Partners for Action: Priorities for Advancing Flood Resiliency in Canada identifies the key areas of focus that should constitute the way forward to better protect Canadians and their property.
The research was commissioned by The Co-operators and undertaken by Professor Blair Feltmate and Professor Jason Thistlethwaite of the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. Previously, Phase I of the research engaged senior executives in the property and casualty insurance industry who explored the risks and opportunities related to insuring homes against overland flood damage, something that is not currently available in Canada. The findings are summarized in the study, Assessing the Viability of Overland Flood Insurance: The Canadian Residential Property Market.
Phase II engaged a broader group of stakeholders representing all levels of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and a variety of industries, who identified the following three priority areas where action could most effectively reduce the risk of flood damage:
During the upcoming Phase III, the focus will be on Preparedness of Cities, the one point that is not currently being addressed by any level of government or other organization.
“Canada is well behind other nations when it comes to managing the risk associated with overland flooding,” said Rob Wesseling, executive vice-president at The Co-operators. “It is a complex issue that requires a multi-faceted response, which is why we brought together such a variety of stakeholders. Together, we’ve made very good progress on identifying the issues and mapping out a way forward to better protect Canadians and their property from the ever-increasing risks of extreme weather.”
Over the past several months, stakeholders from all three levels of government, NGOs, conservation authorities, and several industries including banking, real estate developers and builders, insurance and reinsurance contributed to the discussion. Approximately 60 experts from this wide-ranging group came together in June at the Partners for Action Roundtable.
The results are captured in the report, which is publicly available in the Sustainability section under the About Us tab at www.cooperators.ca.
Eight Waterloo researchers receive $25,000 each to develop health-tech solutions for Grand River Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital and the KW4 Ontario Health Team
WatSPEED’s new program empowers policy leaders in adopting an AI framework to address the government’s core challenges
English professor reflects on the innovative field of children’s literature and the challenges of writing and publishing picture books
The University of Waterloo acknowledges that much of our work takes place on the traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee peoples. Our main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land granted to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River. Our active work toward reconciliation takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is co-ordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations.