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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 20

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
January 31, 2022 11:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22
Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)
  • Jan/31/22 3:58:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, my colleague mentioned, as did the previous questioner, the terrible floods we had in British Columbia last November. It was a terrible year in British Columbia, with the fires that destroyed Lytton and the fires through the southern interior, including in my riding. It is clear that we are being impacted by climate change right now. We do have to commit to mitigating these issues. We have to stop putting carbon in the atmosphere so that this does not get any worse. It is clear that we are being impacted right now. Does he think the federal government should be more ambitious in funding climate adaptation projects, things like FireSmarting communities and reinforcing infrastructure to help stop flooding? Should we not be upping the game in that department?
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Context: House Hansard - 20 - Jan/31/22
Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)
  • Jan/31/22 5:07:08 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his first speech in the House. I could go on about the Scottish heritage. I just hope the member likes my tie as well. I come from a riding that depends on agriculture. I grew up on a small orchard in the South Okanagan Valley. It depends on irrigation above all, so I hear concerns about that. I hear his concerns about municipalities and the difficulty that Canadian municipalities have in funding some of these projects that are necessary. While I would probably completely disagree with the member on the mitigation of climate change and how essential that work is, I would hope to find agreement with the funding of adaptation. Irrigation is probably an important part of that in our ridings. I have had some trouble getting irrigation money from the federal government. I am wondering. Would the member support a new funding program, especially for climate-related disasters, that would let smaller communities off the hook when it comes to the 20% funding requirement for those projects?
176 words
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