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Hon. Bill Blair

Member of Parliament
Minister of National Defence
Liberal

Scarborough Southwest
Ontario
Voting Attendance: 66%
Expenses Last Quarter: $115,019.32

Government Page

Dec/6/21 7:13:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I have a point of clarification, as perhaps I did not make myself clear in my articulation. What we put in budget 2021 was $1.4 billion for the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. This is not for a study, but to begin to do some of the important work. I will also tell the member that in Lower Mainland B.C. and Abbotsford, as well as in many places right across the country, we know that work needs to be done. Let me also acknowledge that parts of the United States, which in many ways has been ahead of us on this, have invested in creating a more resilient infrastructure to deal with the potential of disasters in its communities. However, this work is ongoing, with collaboration between our two countries. We recognize that water does not respect international boundaries. It does not flow north to south; it flows downhill. When the Nooksack River overflows its banks, the water tends to head right up the Sumas Prairie. It was not solely responsible for the flooding that took place but was a part of it. We will work with the Government of the United States, Washington state, the B.C. government and the communities impacted to make a difference.

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Context: House Hansard - 11 - Dec/6/21

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Dec/6/21 7:09:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my friend from Langley—Aldergrove for his collaboration on this really important issue. He is absolutely correct: I recently travelled to Abbotsford. It is not the first time I have been to Abbotsford, nor the first time I have met with Mayor Braun. I am aware of the extraordinary impact the recent flooding events have had on that community and the many other parts of the Lower Mainland of B.C. that have been impacted. I regret to tell my friend that I did not bring a chequebook with me today, but I have some other good news that I think will respond to his inquiry. When this terrible event began, I was in regular contact with the B.C. government about it. In the earliest hours, the Canadian Armed Forces responded. To provide some critically important labour, 650 members of the Canadian Armed Forces arrived in the Abbotsford area and have helped with diking, repairs and sandbagging. I went there and witnessed the exceptional work they were doing, and they were doing it alongside the people of the communities that were impacted. Frankly, it made me proud, as I am sure it does my friend from Langley—Aldergrove, to be a Canadian to watch how people responded in these very difficult times. I acknowledge that important work needs to be done. However, one of the things we have seen over the past several years is an increase in the amount of money the Government of Canada has been expending on disaster financial assistance, through the arrangements we have with the provinces and territories, in response to flooding events. In fact, some of the analysis shows that we can expect it, as a direct result of climate change, to rise exponentially, to five times its current level of expenditure. It is so important that we invest significantly in disaster mitigation and adaptation in all of those areas to ensure we have resilient infrastructure. The diking system to which my friend refers is a very important part of that. As I am sure he is also aware, the diking system was initially the responsibility of the provincial government, but it was downloaded to the municipality. Mayor Braun shared with me, as I suspect he shared with my friend, that because the municipality draws its resources from property taxes, it was unable to make the investments and do the work that was necessary. I spoke with the Premier of British Columbia and he said that was a mistake. We have also set up a joint committee with the provinces and the territories, and I am insisting that municipalities be involved in it as well. We will invest federal dollars to accompany provincial dollars, and will work with the municipality to repair those dikes to ensure that we build a greater resilience for the community. Building back is not good enough; we need to build back better. I know that is sometimes an overused phrase, but we recognize the importance of investing in that. Last year, in budget 2021, we committed $1.4 million to the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund. We know where those dollars will need to be spent, and although there is no chequebook today, I want to assure my friend that we will be there with the people of British Columbia. That is a very important community in this country given the farm work that goes on there. We have seen the resilience of its people, and we need to make sure their community is resilient as well.

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Context: House Hansard - 7 - Nov/30/21

Hon. Bill Blair (President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness, Lib.)

Nov/30/21 2:58:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, just last Friday, I visited again with Mayor Braun, along with the Prime Minister, and we heard first-hand the problems they have had. They acknowledged at the time, as did the premier of British Columbia, that many years ago the responsibility for maintaining those dikes was downloaded to the municipalities and they did not have the capacity to do it. We have made a commitment to British Columbia and to the people impacted by these floods that we will be there for them during the rebuild. We will ensure that we are adaptive and create a greater resiliency for those communities, rebuilding in a way that is respectful of the impact that so many of these climate-related events are having on that community.

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Minister of National Defence

Hon. Bill Blair