Transport Committee on June 1st, 2023

[Craig Stewart]

I wouldn't say that the role is necessarily to intervene. I would say that the federal government has a leadership role to play in trying to address these gaps. Canada is becoming a riskier place to insure. The reinsurers—those are the companies that we pass risk onto globally—have raised the rates for Canada by up to double for some portions of this country in the last year. As a result, that means that insurers are paying more, much higher premiums, and they're passing that on to the customers. It's not just your community that's feeling the pain. I'd say the pain is being felt across the country, because Canada is becoming a riskier place to insure.

How do you reduce the risk? Whether it's on auto.... Do you have some sort of national auto theft strategy that the feds could lead with the RCMP? Is there something we could collaborate on in that area? With the national flood insurance program, that's a terrific step forward. It's essentially saying we are going to intervene in the market by entering the market. The federal government is actually saying they're going to be underwriting flood insurance for the country. It's a massive step forward, in partnership with us. We fully support it. It keeps insurance available and affordable for those who live in high risk...and building it to expand to address other challenges when they emerge is also important.

I'd say it's not only a northeast Calgary issue; it's across the country. Your constituents aren't paying more, because of that one hailstorm. It's a trend. We're seeing a worrying trend.

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

The trend is that folks in northeast Calgary prior to that hailstorm were paying much more. That's the problem. This hailstorm has just made it that much worse.

When a provincial government does not initiate or call it a disaster, so they don't have to spend a dollar to get some dollars from the federal government, that's also what happened. How do folks who live in my communities...? The role of government is to step in and support people when they're going through these challenges and crises. Whose responsibility is it when the provincial government is not willing to spend any money, not willing to support people and not willing to step in and do its job? Whose responsibility is it?

That's what happened with our Conservative government in Alberta during that hailstorm. They took a different approach, under Premier Redford, during the floods. During these storms they took a completely different approach of inaction. Who's responsible then, and who steps in to protect those people?

[Craig Stewart]

I'm going to deliberately sidestep that specific question and say that an alternative approach is to address those incentives that I mentioned before.

The federal government stands up a national flood insurance program, funds it and backstops it, but then relies on the provinces to keep it affordable by undertaking the necessary program to reduce the risk at a provincial level. We have to be really smart and innovative around these exact questions. How do you make sure it's in the provinces' best interests to act for their constituents?

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you, Mr. Stewart.

[George Chahal, Liberal, Calgary Skyview, AB]

Thank you so much for your testimony today.

[The Chair, Liberal, Peter Schiefke]

Thank you.

I'd like to thank all the members for their great lines of questioning today.

I'd like to thank all the witnesses for appearing and for sharing their important testimony with us for this very important study.

With that, the meeting is adjourned.