A Vancouver Island community is among ten BC communities getting some funding in the aftermath of last November’s extreme weather. The Cowichan Valley Regional District will be receiving 550 thousand dollars for their recovery effort.
In Thursday’s announcement, the province pledged $53.6 million to support recovery in those ten communities. The harder hit regions will get the bulk of the funding, with Merritt getting $24 million and Princeton just under $12 million. Others receiving funds are Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Fraser Valley, Hope, Kent, Mission, and Thompson-Nicola.
This is added on to $2.1 billion in funding already earmarked for those recovering from last year’s flooding and wildfires.
BC says the funds will allow them to take care of initial costs, start small scale recovery projects, start planning to restore infrastructure, and restore the infrastructure to higher standards, so a similar impact of extreme weather events is not felt in the future.
Municipal Affairs Minister Nathan Cullen says the November floods were a stark reminder of the climate crisis and its impacts.
Cullen says, “Our government is committed to ensuring local governments and their residents have access to the resources they need to recover, including housing in the medium term, while we work to develop long-term solutions to better protect people and communities.”
