Canadian premiers call for better disaster mitigation

Canada’s premiers are calling on the federal government to create a “distinct Canada-wide disaster mitigation infrastructure initiative,” as well as ensuring liability insurance requirements for railroads are sufficient. 

The cost for a new mitigation program would be split evening between the provincial/territorial governments and the federal government, the Council of the Federation said in a statement following its summer meeting in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. last week.

The initiative should be separate from other programs such as the Building Canada Plan, the group of provincial leaders noted.

The premiers also called for the Canadian government to maintain the current level of financial assistance available under the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements.

They are calling on the government, among other things, to improve search and rescue response times, and conduct a thorough review of marine safety.

For example, the council says “federal regulations should better address remediation of shipwrecks in Canadian waters and the federal government should take responsibility for the removal of shipwrecks due to inherent hazards.”

They also called upon the federal government to “reconsider its decision to close a number of Marine Rescue Sub-Centres and Marine Communications Traffic and Service Centres throughout the country.”

The leaders also said that broadcasters should work more collaboratively with the provinces and territories to establish a mandatory public alerting system, pointing out the particularly poor emergency management in Aboriginal and remote communities.

The premiers also agreed during the meeting that there is a “clear lack of information on hazardous materials travelling on the rail network,” after discussing the recent disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Que.

“Premiers agreed that a system should be put in place by the federal government to monitor rail convoys transporting hazardous materials,” the council’s statement noted.

“This system would provide real-time data on the location and content of the trains, which would be shared, for public safety purposes, amongst the relevant authorities of the federal, provincial and territorial governments.”

They also noted that federal regulation provides that railroads must maintain liability insurance in an amount sufficient to cover the costs associated with the damage for which they are responsible and called on the federal government to take action and make sure that the safety and liability insurance requirements are sufficient.