The Government of Canada has put in place a number of measures to improve the resiliency of Canadians in the face of the rising frequency and costs of flood events.

May 3, 2022 – Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Québec

Flooding continues to be the most frequent and costly disaster in Canada, causing an average of over $1 billion in direct damage to homes, property, and infrastructure annually. The Government of Canada has put in place a number of measures to improve the resiliency of Canadians in the face of the rising frequency and costs of flood events.

Today, Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre, and Sameer Zuberi, Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds—Dollard, met with members of the community, business owners, volunteers and municipal leaders to discuss the impacts of the floods in Pierrefonds in 2019.

As part of the day’s activities, PS Naqvi and MP Zuberi visited 3 Soeurs BOL, a family-run restaurant that continuously contributes to the community through food donation in the aftermath of floods and other emergency events. They also visited the On Rock Community Services Centre, where they met with the Founder and President and discussed how the organization is a staple in the community through their help and support to those who need it.

PS Naqvi and MP Zuberi also met with Stéphane Côté, Mayor of L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève, and Dimitrios Jim Bies, Mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Discussions focused on the impacts of the flooding in these communities in 2017 and 2019, the local mitigation work underway in preparation for this year’s flood season, as well as Emergency Preparedness Week. Emergency Preparedness Week runs May 1-7, 2022, and this year’s theme is “Emergency Preparedness: Be Ready for Anything!”.

“The communities of Pierrefonds and L’Île-Bizard–Sainte-Geneviève showed incredible resilience in the wake of significant flooding in 2017 and 2019. Today, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week, we were able to witness first-hand the strong partnership between volunteers, businesses, community organizations, and local governments as they build back stronger.”

– Yasir Naqvi, Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Queen’s Privy Council and Minister of Emergency Preparedness and Member of Parliament for Ottawa Centre

“People living and working across Pierrefonds-Dollard have stepped up to be there for each other in the face of floods over the past years. I was happy to be joined by my colleague Parliamentary Secretary Naqvi to show him the work that communities here on the West Island are doing to keep each other safe. We were also pleased to update on the flood preparation efforts our government is working on across the country to support our communities, now and in the future.”

– Sameer Zuberi, Member of Parliament for Pierrefonds-Dollard

Annie Cullinan

Press Secretary

Office of the President of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and Minister of Emergency Preparedness

annie.cullinan@qpc-cpr.gc.ca