Consultation dries up

No one was expecting that the provincial government would release a bulletproof policy on rebuilding after June’s devastating floods, but at a minimum, it could have consulted with the City of Calgary and other hard-hit communities, such as High River, before publicly releasing its outline.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi says municipalities weren’t consulted by the province before the Redford government announced the guidelines for reconstruction on so-called floodway zones and fringe zones on Sunday. The fact Nenshi is now able to gripe about the lack of communication is reason enough for the Tory cabinet to have taken the time to speak with the leaders of affected centres.

More worrisome still, though, is that Nenshi says the city’s data on flood risk don’t mesh with the widely publicized maps the province has produced. Nenshi says the city’s information is newer than the province’s, which is based largely on assessments in 1983 and 1996.

“Entire neighbourhoods, whether they should or should not be on the list, are part of that difference in expert opinion, and we have to get that sorted,” the mayor said earlier this week.

With so many property owners affected by the high-stakes division between floodplain zone and fringe zone, it’s crucial the province takes urgent but prudent steps to ensure the final maps are correct or rethink this policy altogether. Property owners are counting on an accurate assessment, and so are other Alberta taxpayers.

And in future, the Tories should learn that the courtesy of a little consultation goes a long way.