Western Canada: B.C.’s slow flood recovery leaves farmers worried

Good morning. Wendy Cox in Vancouver this morning.

The seasonal rains have started to fall along B.C.’s coast, the water coming down in sheets this week as atmospheric rivers – a term once known only to meteorologists but now part of the vernacular – dump their contents.

The rain will amount to less than half of what pummelled the province almost a year ago, when flooding washed away highways and bridges, farmland and livestock. But the season has put farmers like Jaswant Dhillon on edge.

Reporter Justine Hunter spoke to him for a story today examining whether a year has been enough time to protect Mr. Dhillon from another event like last year. The answer: Nope.

Mr. Dhillon’s home and blueberry farm were ruined when the Sumas River dike breached on Nov. 16, 2021. Today, his fields remain empty as he wrestles with various arms of government to recover some of his losses. He had eight hectares of mature blueberry bushes, and it will take a decade before new plants would be as productive.

Temporary repairs to the Sumas dike are to be completed this month, but Mr. Dhillon and his farming neighbours worry they won’t be good enough.

A permanent solution to the dike that was built to protect the farms, homes and infrastructure on the Sumas Prairie is at least five years away. The urgent commitment last November by governments at all levels to fix the province’s complex and aging system of flood protection has morphed into a lengthy process of consultation and study.

Canada’s Minister for Emergency Preparedness, Bill Blair, has committed to a new, low-cost national insurance program to protect homeowners at high risk of flooding and without adequate coverage, as well as an action plan to assist them with potential relocation.

Moreover, the federal government has promised at least $5-billion in disaster relief to B.C. for the floods, but that money will trickle in over years.

“How will we survive?” asked Mr. Dhillon, frustrated with waiting for relief. “The government has left us, forgotten us.”

Responsibility for dikes and other flood-protection measures in B.C. remains the same patchwork as before, including more than 100 orphan dikes that have no owner or authority responsible for their maintenance.

The province has tabled an intentions paper on its proposed flood strategy, and a report is expected in the summer of 2023 to summarize public engagement.

B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety, Mike Farnworth, said in an interview that the province could take over the whole system of flood protection, or it might adopt a model of shared responsibility – but he offered no timeline for a decision.

The mayor of Abbotsford, Henry Braun, who served through the floods and chose not to run again in last month’s election, said he shares his constituents’ fears about more disaster now that the rains have returned. And he’s also frustrated by the wait.

“We probably have a number of Novembers to get through – four or five, but that’s a guess on my part. And in the meantime, we are at risk of flooding, similar or actually even worse happening than happened last year.”

This is the weekly Western Canada newsletter written by B.C. Editor Wendy Cox and Alberta Bureau Chief James Keller. If you’re reading this on the web, or it was forwarded to you from someone else, you can sign up for it and all Globe newsletters here.