Introduced as a private member’s bill. (These don’t often become law.)
Status
Second reading (House), as of Oct. 28, 2025
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Summary
This is from the published bill.
This enactment provides for the development of a national strategy to provide key stakeholders with the information they need to forecast floods and droughts.
This is a computer-generated summary of the speeches below.
Usually it’s accurate, but every now and then it’ll contain inaccuracies or total fabrications.
Bill C-241 proposes a national strategy for flood and drought forecasting, requiring the Minister of Environment to collaborate with various levels of government and partners to improve data gathering and sharing.
Liberal
Establishes a national strategy: The party supports Bill C-241 to establish a national strategy for flood and drought forecasting, viewing it as a vital tool to protect Canada from devastating natural disasters and limit costs.
Addresses urgent climate impacts: The bill responds to the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which threaten Canadians, crops, and infrastructure, recognizing climate change as a present reality.
Fosters collaboration and expertise: The bill promotes strong collaboration between all levels of government, Indigenous peoples, and experts to effectively manage water resources and reduce reliance on foreign data.
Conservative
Supports bill C-241 in principle: The party supports the bill at second reading, acknowledging the need for better flood and drought forecasting, provided the strategy is developed responsibly and efficiently.
Prioritizes fiscal responsibility: The strategy must utilize existing departmental resources and expertise, focusing on coordination and efficiency to avoid new bureaucracies, additional costs, or increased taxation for Canadians.
Respects provincial and indigenous authority: The strategy must respect provincial and indigenous jurisdiction, avoiding federal overreach and ensuring an inclusive, bottom-up approach that incorporates indigenous water knowledge and diverse community voices.
Encourages private insurance: The party believes private insurance should be the primary protection against natural disasters, with accurate forecasting enabling fair risk assessment and affordable coverage for homeowners.
NDP
Supports bill C-241: The NDP supports Bill C-241, the national strategy on flood and drought forecasting act, seeing it as a promising step to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events.
Addresses urgent climate impacts: Rapidly shifting weather patterns cause devastating extreme events, leading to significant environmental, fiscal, mental health, and social costs, particularly for Indigenous and rural communities.
Improves forecasting and response: The bill establishes a national flood and drought forecasting strategy to improve monitoring, support mitigation, save lives, prevent economic devastation, and address mental health.
Bloc
Questions bill's necessity: The Bloc supports climate adaptation but questions if this bill, establishing another strategy without budgetary impact, is truly necessary or if existing federal and provincial capacities are sufficient.
Quebec's existing expertise: Quebec's environment ministry already possesses extensive hydrological data, expertise, and infrastructure for forecasting and managing water resources, questioning the need for federal intervention in this area.
Prioritize financial investment: The party prioritizes concrete financial investments in climate adaptation, arguing that municipalities require significant annual funding, which the current bill fails to provide.
The time provided for the consideration of Private Members' Business has now expired, and the order is dropped to the bottom of the order of precedence on the Order Paper.
