Dear friends,
I know this past month has been a frustrating and even dangerous time for some Bedford residents. The July 21st floods brought home the realities of climate change in ways many of us never anticipated. I am so thankful we didn’t lose any Bedford residents, but far too many people were forced to flee as water inundated their homes. Still more experienced flooded basements and lost vehicles and other property. I want to thank the residents who welcomed me into their homes to show me how the flooding had impacted their largest financial asset.
If you experienced damage that is not covered by insurance, you may wish to apply for the Province’s Disaster Financial Assistance Program. You can find more information on this program and the application forms here.
There is also a fact sheet that may be of some assistance as you negotiate the aftermath of the flooding.
Both Councillor Tim Outhit and I have called on the three levels of government to come together to discuss purchasing the homes of these residents who have experienced repeated flooding. Although previous governments have taken steps to reduce the likelihood and severity of flooding there, they were completely inadequate this time. One of the functions of governments is to help ensure the safety of residents, and I believe all levels of government need to focus on this as we experience more extreme weather. What worked in the past will not be adequate as climate change continues. We will keep you abreast of any developments on this file.
At the same time, I wanted to share that the federal government is working on a program to help Canadians who can no longer secure flood insurance. I am very grateful for their efforts on this front. While we don’t yet have details or costs, this article has some information in it.
Finally, because Meta (formerly Facebook) and X (formerly Twitter) are refusing to pay for news content, they are not letting Canadians link to news articles on their platforms. When I think there’s a news item that you might be interested in, I’ll let you know how you can find it (i.e. by sharing key words to use in your search to find it). It’s a clumsy, clunky way to get to news, but it’s the best we have right now.
I hope the rest of your summer is calm and restful —
Kelly