Mr. Speaker, this past summer, the city of Toronto suffered what is described as a once-in-a-hundred-years storm. Thousands of homes were flooded, families lost cherished possessions and spent millions rebuilding. Neighbourhoods in my riding of York South—Weston were among the hardest hit.
I visited the flooded streets to offer comfort and assistance. I saw tremendous resilience from the very young to the very old. I also saw the aftermath of the current Conservative government's neglect of our city and its critical infrastructure needs, such as improved sewer systems, some of which are over 100 years old.
With climate change, severe storms like the one that hit Toronto on July 8, will become more frequent. The Conservative government needs to get off the sidelines and start investing to prevent widespread flooding from happening with each big storm.
I have written on these matters to the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Infrastructure, but the response did not offer any assistance.
This is a prime example of the climate change adaptation the government talks about. The time to help is now. My constituents not only expect it, they demand it.