Whereas more than three years have passed after the November 2021 atmospheric river emergency with an estimated 8.7 - 14.2B in economic losses; And whereas flood security in the Lower Fraser has not been addressed and the Province is not advancing the BC Flood Strategy; And whereas our communities, in the Fraser Valley, are committed to collaborating with First Nations to reduce flood risk in line with the Sendai Framework and the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM ask that the Province supports the BC Flood Strategy by investing in floodplain solutions to support dialogue between local governments, First Nations, and provincial staff and to ensure effective governance, policy, and funding support for the strategys implementation.
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Since 2021, the Province has invested heavily in flood resiliency throughout BC. Over 250 infrastructure projects have been funded, including 76 million for the Barrowtown pump station in Abbotsford, 46 million to implement updates to flood protection infrastructure in Merritt, and 400,000 for floodplain mapping and flood mitigation plan development in Princeton. The Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship and Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness have worked diligently to advance priority actions that support flood resilience by: - Developing new floodplain maps for high-risk communities through the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program FHIMP. - Leading the update of BCs Flood Hazard Area Land Use Management Guidelines to address increasing flood risks and legislative commitments and by developing guidance for Nature Based Solutions and for First Nations and local government partnerships. - Establishing the Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding DRIF program to help First Nations and local governments strengthen defences against natural and climate-driven hazards, including flooding. - Strengthening regional and watershed-scale collaboration among all orders of government and exploring an approach to building on the Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategys Pathways to Action with First Nations, Fraser Valley Regional District and Metro Vancouver. - Providing over 4 million to support the Sumas River Watershed Flood Mitigation Planning, and Transboundary Flood Initiative. These actions continue to help us move toward the broader vision of the BC Flood Strategy together, align with the U.N. Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and uphold BCs commitments under the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act DRIPA.