It’s time to get serious about climate adaptation

In recent years, Canadians have been shaken by the frequency and scale of extreme weather events that have devastated communities and infrastructure. Over the past 50 years, the costs of extreme weather events have ballooned by 1,250 per cent. When extreme weather events damage infrastructure, professional engineers work overtime to repair it. Take the Sumas River Dike in British Columbia, which breached during the 2021 atmospheric river events in the province, and was the costliest single disaster in Canadian history. The breach quickly flooded the old Sumas Lake, causing catastrophic damage to homes and farm activity. Professional engineers in British Columbia sealed the breach within one week, preventing further damage. As they were then, engineers will always be there to protect the public and repair infrastructure when disasters occur. But after the atmospheric river, taxpayers, insurers, and households are on the hook for more than $9-billion in repairs. Canada lost millions more dollars in economic activity from the damage caused to roads, bridges, railways and other trade-enabling infrastructure. While extreme weather events have always happened, changing climactic conditions have made them more frequent and more intense, and they are only getting worse. The Canadian Institute for Climate Choices projects that over the next few decades, flood damage to roads, homes, and buildings will increase five to 10-fold, and the lost economic activity from this damage will be in the billions of dollars. As extreme weather events become more common, Canadians are asking tough questions of all levels of government about what they are doing to adapt and safeguard our infrastructure to withstand future damage. The only way forward is to take preventative action. The good news is that the engineering profession—on the front lines of designing, building, and safeguarding infrastructure in Canada—has been asking these questions for decades, proposing adaptation policies to government, engaging in risk assessment, and incorporating climate vulnerability into their professional practice. In 2016, Engineers Canada’s Canadian Engineering Qualifications Board (CEQB) published a national guideline on sustainable development and environmental stewardship for professional engineers which aids engineers in incorporating sustainability principles into their work. In 2018, the CEQB provided the regulators with a second public guideline on principles of climate adaptation and mitigation for engineers. These efforts inform standards of professional judgment and practice to anticipate and prevent climate- and weather- related degradation of infrastructure. Canada’s professional engineers have also been urging the federal government to collaborate with the engineering profession to develop the government’s National Adaptation Strategy and other policies related to climate change and extreme weather events. But while the release of the strategy is commendable, including measures to adapt to extreme heat, wildfire, and flood risk, the federal government has not thoroughly considered the role that provincial and territorial engineering regulators must play. Moreover, significant new funding is necessary to ensure the strategy’s objectives become reality. For example, the strategy sets a target that by 2027, “70 per cent of the members of relevant professional associations have the capacity to apply climate change adaptation tools and information.” While this is a desirable goal, achieving it will require ongoing collaboration and direct support for the relevant professional associations. Luckily, the federal government has an opportunity with the 2024 budget to cement the role of adaptation frameworks in driving the development of Canada’s infrastructure. While the flagship Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) has prioritized green projects that include adaptation, the program has not focused enough on adapting infrastructure to withstand extreme weather. As the government looks to roll out the ICIP’s successor programs, they are likely to be more targeted and focused on infrastructure that supports Canada’s housing construction needs, like water and wastewater management and public transit. These are important goals, but the government cannot lose sight of the importance of investing in adaptation more broadly. Now is the time for the government to ensure it is leveraging every tool at its disposal to prepare Canada for the reality of a changing climate. They can start by taking steps to implement the National Adaptation Strategy in partnership with the engineering profession, and ensuring that new infrastructure spending prioritizes the necessity of adaptation to extreme weather events. Gerard McDonald, MBA, PEng, ICD.D, is chief executive officer of Engineers Canada. Jeanette Southwood, FCAE, FEC, LLD (honoris causa), PEng, is vice-president, Corporate Affairs and Strategic Partnerships at Engineers Canada. The Hill Times

It’s time to get serious about climate adaptation

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It’s time to get serious about climate adaptation

The federal government must ensure that Canada's infrastructure is prepared for extreme weather events driven by climate change.

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