Environment committee  It's the model that ministers have asked us to take the closest look at.

Environment committee  Yes. In that case, you do have properties that, as we've seen unfortunately in this region, are going to repeatedly flood. They would drain any insurance pool that you set up, and other policy holders would essentially be subsidizing them for living there, which isn't right. Those people, who probably shouldn't have been there in the first place, are a liability that the insurance industry really does not want to take on.

Environment committee  Federal, provincial or municipal. That's a discussion that has to happen. This is called strategic retreat. You carefully select those communities that should either be moved or elevated. You can elevate these homes as well, either by putting them on stilts or on berms, but they must be moved out of harm's way.

Environment committee  To date, with the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund run by Infrastructure Canada, natural infrastructure is eligible in that program. Unfortunately, the threshold for the program is such that it's quite high. The minimum threshold is $20 million, so you can't apply only for a natural infrastructure project.

Environment committee  Thank you, Mr. Chair and committee members, for the invitation and opportunity to speak to you at the standing committee today on the subject of disaster mitigation and insurance. I'm Craig Stewart, vice-president of federal affairs at the Insurance Bureau of Canada, or IBC. We are the national trade association representing Canada's private home, car and business insurers.