Budget's climate emergencies money `lip service,' critics say
Following a record wildfire season in 2023 and record flooding in 2021, the B.C. government announced Thursday it was spending an additional $405 million over the next four years to prepare for and respond to climate-related disasters.
But critics said the province was merely paying “lip service” to longer-term efforts to mitigate such disasters.
When it comes to wildfires, the province said it would, among other things, allocate $56 million in additional funds over the next three years for helicopter and air tanker services and $60 million for wildfire risk reduction and fuel management.
The province said it would also add $24 million over four years to upgrade forest service roads that serve remote First Nations communities.
When it comes to droughts and flooding, the province said it would spend $83 million this year to help farmers and ranchers collect and store water for agriculture and irrigation, and $77 million to upgrade the Barrowtown pump station on the Sumas Prairie in Abbotsford.
The province said it would also improve co-ordination of alerts to residents facing imminent threats and provide better support for evacuees, including new funding for “call centre agents” to help them navigate emergency services.
Delta Coun. Dylan Kruger, who is also chairman of the Metro Vancouver Flood Resiliency Committee, said given that it's an election year, he had hoped to “see something about not only responding to disasters but a proactive approach,” including needed upgrades to dike infrastructure.
“The reality is that cities can't deliver multi-billion flood resiliency upgrades on their own,” he said. “We need sustained annual grant funding from the provincial government for flood resiliency, especially in agricultural communities like mine.”
Tamsin Lyle, a flood management specialist and principal at Ebbwater Consulting, agreed, describing the budget as merely “holding the line.”
“There's nothing amazing in there when it comes to flood or climate or disaster resiliency, maybe except on the wildfire side.”
Beyond dike upgrades, Lyle would like to see land-use changes to restrict building in flood plains and wildfire-interface zones and changes to building codes to make buildings more resilient to hazards.
Tyrone McNeil, president and tribal chief of the Stó:lō tribal council, said he was disappointed with the budget. The province, he said, needs to embrace a mindset of “resilience over protection.”
McNeil, who is also chairman of the Emergency Planning Secretariat, a collaboration of Coast Salish communities, said his “No. 1 priority is sustainable, predictable funding for emergency program co-ordinators in our communities.”
He added that as climate disasters become more frequent and severe, hard infrastructure is likely to be eroded or over-topped and that the province needs to build up more natural defences to flooding, including opening up old waterways.
B.C.'s budget announcement Thursday also included a suite of grant and rebate programs — about $318 million over the next three years — to encourage the continued transition to a low-carbon economy, including cleaner transportation and energy-efficient buildings.
This included $40 million for additional heat pump rebates for households with low and middle incomes and $30 million for implementation of electric vehicle public charging infrastructure. Where those stations will go was not covered in budget materials.
Locations will be based on where the needs are greatest, provincial staff said.
The budget also includes $248 million in funding over three years to expand B.C. Transit infrastructure outside the Lower Mainland, including new zero-emission buses and increased capacity of depots and passenger facilities. It also includes $207 million over three years for road and bridge maintenance on provincial highways.
The Wilderness Committee called the incentives for heat pumps one of the budget's “bright spots” but spending on public transportation as “modest.”
“As in past budgets, the focus is on responding to climate disasters as opposed to investing in deeper emissions cuts,” the group said in a news release. “Alarmingly, overall revenues from natural gas are projected to increase, reflecting the growth of fossil fuel extraction.”
“Things like worsening floods and wildfires are costing us more, and the science tells us these costs will continue to balloon as long as carbon emissions remain where they are,” said Torrance Coste, associate director at the committee.
The province said it was looking to expand the critical mineral sector in collaboration with First Nations. This would include $24 million over three years to support mine permitting and reforms to the Mineral Tenure Act.