Tag Archives: Canadian Climate Institute

Feds release flimsy first report on climate risk managment

Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The federal government expects the cost of disaster relief funding to balloon to a billion dollars or more each year as the climate crisis advances, according to a new risk-management report. 

The document, examining steps by the federal public service to manage the financial risks and possible rewards tied to climate change, was released by Minister of Finance Dominic LeBlanc on Monday. 

Over the past decade, the federal government spent an average $793 million annually to help provinces and farms, businesses, industries and communities overcome natural disasters, according to the inaugural Federal Climate-Related Risk Management report. 

However, as extreme weather and catastrophes aggravated by climate change — like the 2021 flooding in B.C. or Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada the following year — occur more frequently, funding transfers to provinces through the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement (DFAA) are expected to spike, the report noted. 

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Guided by her culture, Gitxsan scientist looks to old ways for climate resilience

By Aaron Hemens, The Discourse, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Whether harvesting salmon or simply spending quality time with her grandfather and uncles, Janna Wale has no shortage of stories about being on the water with her family.

She moved around a bit growing up, but can vividly recall different memories from her early years fishing in her Gitxsan homelands — there were “tons of fish everywhere” at the unceded confluence of the Skeena, Nass and Bulkley rivers near the village of “Hazelton, B.C.”

“Our culture is totally built around salmon. We have different roles for salmon in the feast hall. It’s a large food supply for a lot of people, especially in the winter,” said Wale, who is from the Gitanmaax First Nation and is Cree-Métis on her mother’s side.

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Canada’s new climate adaptation plan puts up $1.6 billion to tackle wildfires, heatwaves, flood risk and more

By Natasha Bulowski, Canada’s National Observer, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Canada’s much-anticipated roadmap to weather the impacts of climate change is out, and it includes $1.6 billion in new spending to fortify infrastructure, protect human health and predict future risks.

The country’s first National Adaptation Strategy lays out specific targets for its five focus areas: disaster resilience, health and well-being, nature and biodiversity, economy and workers and infrastructure.

Continue reading Canada’s new climate adaptation plan puts up $1.6 billion to tackle wildfires, heatwaves, flood risk and more