The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) announced the launch of its new, national Foundation for the Future program that “recognizes the efforts of communities to manage exposure to natural disasters, extreme weather and weather-related events.”
IBC President and CEO Stan Griffin also announced the first five communities to be recognized under the program at a ceremony yesterday in Vancouver. “It’s particularly appropriate to celebrate their successes during Emergency Preparedness Week,” he stated. “Each of the honourees has shown leadership in disaster loss prevention and will serve as a model to their peers across the country.”
The five communities receiving IBC’s Foundation for the Future recognition are: Naniamo, BC; La Ronge, Saskatchewan; Leamington, Ontario; Saint-Constant, Quebec and Little Brook, Nova Scotia. The bulletin indicated that “their efforts include building a new fire hall, improving firefighting tools, introducing better disaster protection skills to the community and improving flood prevention measures, among others.”
Griffin noted that “Natural disasters are hitting Canadians with increasing frequency and severity. While we can be proud of the way we respond to natural disasters, there are steps that can be taken to ensure communities are better prepared to withstand the effects of these disasters.” The IBC is working with all levels of government “to create a culture of preparedness and all are embracing the need for everyone to be better prepared. ”
The announcement singled out Ontario and Quebec for creating “two of the most progressive disaster management systems in North America.” It also noted that the province of Manitoba had announced that, with the help of the federal government, it plans to invest an additional $80 million in improving the Winnipeg Floodway, “the largest federal-provincial infrastructure investment partnership in that province since the floodway’s construction in the early 1960s.”
Insurance Bureau of Canada is the national trade association of the private property and casualty insurance industry. It represents the companies that provide more than 90 per cent of the private home, car and business insurance in Canada. Further news and information is available on the organization’s Web site at: www.ibc.ca.
Topics Canada
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