Governments failing to protect citizens from climate disaster

Re: Disaster recognition lost in the floods, Column, July 8

The first duty of government is to protect its citizens. Recent events in southern Alberta, Lac- Mégantic and Toronto show what a challenging task that has become. As John Clague points out, prevention by reducing hazard risks is always less painful and less costly than responding to disasters when they occur.

B. C. learned this lesson when, after the great Fraser River flood of 1948, it established the Lower Mainland Regional Planning Board to plan for the development of the region from Hope to the sea. An early result was the mapping of the Fraser River floodplain, which provided the basis for preventing settlement ( or further settlement) in areas prone to flooding. This was the basis for provincial regulations on floodplain development that are a permanent part of our planning framework. It is a shame Alberta ignored B. C.’ s experience as well as lessons from the 2005 floods and continued to permit settlement in areas prone to flooding.

It is an even bigger pity humanity as a whole — and our governments — have not realized climate change contains immense risks to present and future generations that could be mitigated or avoided by a preventive approach. The costs of continued flaccid action on climate — to citizens and governments — in pain and treasure will be huge. KEN CAMERON Vancouver