The provincial government is continuing with its controversial plan to build the Waterford Hospital replacement on top of a 100-year floodplain, despite concerns over risks posed by climate change.
Federal Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna was in the capital city yesterday, and spoke to the importance of resilient infrastructure development in light of the impacts of climate change.
McKenna says taxpayer money needs to be spent strategically and for the long term. She says we’re already seeing the affects of climate change, such as 1-in-100-year storms becoming much more frequent.
Development regulations in St. John’s do not allow the construction of facilities on floodplains, and council has asked the provincial government to respect those regulations.
(The new mental health and addictions facility is slated to be build near the Health Sciences Centre.)
Mayor Danny Breen says as the province is the higher level of government, there’s not much the city can do. He says they can’t force the provincial government to adopt their regulations, and they have indicated to the city that they are continuing with those plans.
Breen says the province’s plan is to build berms and to put flood-proofing in place. They have indicated that there are operational and cost reasons for proceeding in the manner they are.
He says it’s a challenge, and one they’ll have to deal with, as they’re also dealing with Rennie’s River and Long Pond to increase flood prevention measures.
(File photo.)
Mayor Breen says there are lots of issues with the provincial government, in terms of spending.
Breen says one thing he’s often found, is that the federal government has the money, the province has the jurisdiction, and the city has the problem. This is one of those cases that Breen says will require more funding from the city to alleviate the flooding issue.
Breen says they understand the importance and need for the new mental health and addictions facility, but it has to make sense for everyone.
