The committee studied how to protect Canadian residents from extreme weather events. Witnesses included Susan Penwarden from Aviva Canada, Paul Kovacs and Sophie Guilbault from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, Blair Feltmate from the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, Craig Stewart as an individual, Robert Muir from the City of Markham, and David Leibl and Mitchell McEwen from Wawanesa Mutual.
Susan Penwarden urged a shift from reactive disaster recovery to proactive investment in resilience, noting that insured losses reached $9.2 billion last year. She recommended updating the National Building Code, closing the adaptation funding gap, creating a national flood insurance program for high-risk homes, and establishing a national emergency management agency, as Canada is the only G7 country without one.
Paul Kovacs and Sophie Guilbault presented data showing damage costs rising 9.4% annually, with $13 billion in losses last year, most of which they said was preventable. They recommended national building codes by 2030 to protect homes from flooding, wildfire, hail and severe wind, partnering with provinces and insurers to build back better after losses, and a coordinated national approach to incentivize homeowners to implement resilience measures.
Blair Feltmate focused on basement flooding as the top climate cost, noting that 1.5 million homes are uninsurable for flood risk and that each dollar invested in adaptation saves three to eight dollars in avoided losses. He recommended that the federal government distribute proven flood and wildfire protection infographics on its websites to meet the national adaptation strategy target of 50% of Canadians taking concrete actions by 2025.
Craig Stewart identified hazard, exposure and vulnerability as key risk factors, and stressed the need to reduce both household exposure and personal vulnerability. He called for stronger collaboration among orders of government, noting that past political cooperation after Hurricane Hazel led to effective flood control measures, and that a financially sustainable path requires public insurance for high-risk flood areas where private insurance is unavailable.
Robert Muir highlighted that uninsured losses are over 90% of reported insured losses, and that the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund is a strong template requiring a minimum benefit-cost ratio of 2:1. He estimated that $28 billion in national infrastructure spending could be justified based on damage reduction benefits, three times the current DMAF-supported level, and offered to submit further recommendations on tracking losses.
David Leibl and Mitchell McEwen emphasized that extreme weather is a present reality threatening the insurance promise, and recommended building climate-ready homes and infrastructure, strengthening disaster recovery with a national flood insurance program and an earthquake backstop, and helping Canadians take practical action through consistent standards and incentives. They noted Wawanesa has committed over $5 million to climate resilience and called for partnerships between government and insurers.
The committee briefly suspended to discuss a motion by Patrick Bonin to draft a report on freshwater using testimony from the previous Parliament, which members supported to avoid losing prior work. Branden Leslie gave notice of a motion recommending a Canada sovereignty act to repeal several federal measures and introduce tax cuts and trade bonuses, though its relevance to the current study was questioned.
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