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A local MP is urging Windsor-Essex municipalities and organizations to apply for a slice of $530 million now available through a new climate adaptation fund from Ottawa.
MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh) on Friday announced the Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative, which offers up to $1 million for projects that help municipalities adapt to the immediate impacts of climate change and build long-term resilience.
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Standing outside Windsor’s St. Paul Pumping Station — the expansion of which is partially funded through a different federal program to address flooding — Kusmierczyk said municipalities and organizations have until Aug. 14 to apply for new funding.
“Communities are the frontlines of climate change and battling climate change, and also picking up the costs of climate change,” said Kusmierczyk.
“We obviously were impacted by flooding in 2016 and 2017, so this funding is absolutely essential. And it’s essential that all levels of government partner to help communities become more resilient.”
Local Leadership for Climate Adaptation initiative is a partnership between the Government of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. It’s funded through the federal Canada Adaptation Action Plan and is part of the National Adaptation Strategy.
Municipal governments and their partners are eligible, including municipally-owned corporations; regional and provincial organizations that deliver municipal services; non-governmental organizations; not-for-profits; research institutes; and Indigenous communities.
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In addition to covering up to $1 million in eligible project costs, the funding initiative covers up to $70,000 for project feasibility studies.
Eligible projects include studying infrastructure upgrades, flood defences, the creation of green spaces, and shoreline rehabilitation aimed at enhancing local resilience against the impacts of climate change.
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The local MP said upgrades to Sand Point Beach are top of mind in light of the drowning deaths of two young men who entered the water from the property just west of the Windsor beach on May 23.
“Here’s an opportunity, perhaps, to get the first phase of the Sand Point relocation and improvements completed with this funding,” he said. “It can provide naturalization of corridors, it can provide soil erosion and flood protection at Sand Point, and move that project forward, and obviously include safety features as well.
“The limit is really creativity. There’s no shortage of needs in our community, but there’s tremendous opportunities for us to partner together and build resiliency.”
According to the Canadian Climate Institute, every dollar invested in adapting to climate change and protecting against climate disasters can save as much as $13-15 in future costs.
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