Local and provincial government officials are gathering in Ottawa for the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conference this week, and flood response is expected to be at the top of the agenda.
The AMO Conference offers local leaders a unique opportunity to engage with provincial officials each year.
Mayors of municipalities hard-hit by flooding, including St. Catharines’ Mat Siscoe, plan to push for the province to do more to help those who need it most.
“Our community is facing significant costs and a long road to recovery,” said Siscoe. “AMO is an important opportunity to continue those conversations and advocate for the financial support our residents need, while also working with the Province on the infrastructure investments and programs that will help protect our community from future extreme weather.”
“We appreciate the responsiveness we’ve seen to date from the Province, but we know more partnerships are needed to help our community become more resilient to these types of incidents in the future,” added Siscoe.
Some key priorities the City of St. Catharines in particular plans to push for in terms of flood response include:
- Activating the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program for impacted areas of St. Catharines
- Provincial funding for the city’s flood alleviation program to meet the significant demand from local residents seeking to make improvements to their homes to reduce the impact of future flooding
- Increased provincial support for climate-resilient stormwater, sanitary sewer, drainage and related municipal infrastructure
- Making sure Ontario’s disaster recovery programs keep evolving with the increased frequency, severity and cost of extreme weather events
The Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program would see the province help foot the bill for homeowners needing to pay for disaster recovery, but only after insurance is fully utilized.
St. Catharines CAO David Oakes, who will also be on hand at the conference, spoke about his goals for the AMO Conference, specifically about achieving more intergovernmental cooperation with respect to preparing for future major weather events.
“We have committed significant resources to the response and our ongoing recovery efforts, and that work will continue,” said Oakes. “But events of this magnitude cannot be addressed by municipalities alone. We need all levels of government working together to support recovery today and make the long-term infrastructure investments needed to prepare our communities for increasingly extreme weather.”
Jay Goldberg is the Canadian Affairs Manager at the Consumer Choice Center. He previously served as the Ontario Director at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and a policy fellow at the Munk School of Public Policy and Global Affairs. Jay holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Toronto.
