Good morning, Mr. Chair and committee members. Thank you for inviting IBC to present to you today. Accompanying me is Ms. Chris Rol, IBC’s long-time flood expert.
Insurance Bureau of Canada is the trade association for the over 200 companies that insure cars, homes and businesses in our country. I want to recognize that we're in the city of Ottawa and on the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinabe Algonquin nation. I also want to recognize our firefighters at this time, many of whom are volunteers, who are working tirelessly, even as we speak, to help keep Canadians safe.
Last year I co-chaired the advisory committee on disaster resilience and security, which provided very specific recommendations for the national adaptation strategy. Our committee submitted those recommendations to Minister Blair and Minister Guilbeault. We stressed that this country lacks urgency when it comes to building resilience to climate change.
For the past decade, the debate about emissions reduction has consumed all the oxygen in the room. Governments have been playing bait and switch with climate change, amplifying catastrophic wildfires and floods to drive energy policy while slow-walking the serious changes needed to defend Canadian homes and businesses. We all know this is true. This is why we welcome your study.
Our experts on disaster resilience recommended that the national adaptation strategy adopt explicit near-term targets to reduce disaster risk and increase recovery. These five-year targets state that by 2028, for instance, mortality due to extreme heat has been reduced by 70% and annual hospitalizations by 50%; all new construction in areas at high risk of wildfire include FireSmart resilience measures; and over 20% of homes identified as being at high risk of riverine and coastal flooding are protected.