As I mentioned earlier, damage costs have been increasing by 9.4% a year. My colleague studied the societal costs of extreme weather events and estimated that what Canada will have to assume in reconstruction costs equates to 3% of annual construction spending. That means that reconstruction would absorb two weeks of construction spending annually. If the trend holds and we remain on the same trajectory being observed in the U.S., give or take a few years, we could reach a point where costs rise dramatically.
