To help Canadians adapt to climate change and build more resilient communities, Intact Financial Corporation is committing more than $1.3 million to five Canadian partners. These partners are exploring real, concrete solutions to make our communities, our people, and our economy more resilient.
“We need to act and reduce the effects of more frequent weather events by helping people and our communities adapt,” said Diane Flanagan, chair of the Intact Foundation and vice president of corporate affairs and communications at Intact Financial Corporation. “Our new partners are introducing innovative approaches to managing the effects of climate change and are helping to address avoidable human and economic losses.”
Climate change is leading to more frequent and severe weather. Extreme weather events in Canada have increased by a factor of five over the past 30 years and insured losses have more than quadrupled. The cost to society is much higher: for every $1 of insurable losses, there are $3 to $4 of uninsured losses paid by governments, businesses, and individuals.
2020 Partners
The organizations and projects that will receive financial support from Intact include:
- Coastal Action will use nature-based infrastructure—such as living shorelines, tidal wetlands, and artificial headlands—to protect Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia from coastal erosion, floods, and contaminated runoff.
- Credit Valley Conservation will test a smart blue roof on its office headquarters to reduce flooding and urban heat and promote rainwater reuse. It also involves learning how to scale this technology for use in local communities and across Canada.
- Evergreen, as part of its new Climate-Ready Schools program, will create new design guidelines for school grounds using natural infrastructure to prevent floods and protect against heat and wind.
- Fondation en environnement et en développement durable (led by CRE-Capitale Nationale) will use rain gardens, vegetated ditches, and green parking lots to reduce floods and urban heat in Quebec City.
- Gathering Voices Society will pilot and test a proactive fire management program with two First Nations communities in British Columbia. It involves surveying and monitoring forests, as well as prescribed burning and mechanical thinning to reduce wildfires.
