Jackie Tegart views damage in Cache Creek with Village staff and fellow MLAs (Image credit: CFJC Today/File photo).)

By Lorne Doerkson, MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Rural communities need more recovery and mitigation support

Jun 29, 2023 | 10:30 AM

A NUMBER OF RURAL COMMUNITIES IN B.C. have been struggling to recover from recent climate events that have caused incredible damage.

Many of them are in the riding of Fraser-Nicola, which borders my riding of Cariboo-Chilcotin. My colleague Jackie Tegart recently organized a tour of some of the hardest-hit communities for several BC United MLAs, and as Shadow Minister for Rural Development I was keen to participate.

We began our tour in Cache Creek, where it was heartbreaking to see the scale of devastation caused by this year’s floods. Local officials are faced with the difficult task of not only repairing the damage but planning ahead to try to prevent these disasters from occurring — or at least, to limit their impacts when they do happen. They noted that these impacts, particularly the financial ones associated with response and recovery, get worse every year that they happen.

Given the size of Cache Creek and its tax base, it’s very challenging for them to come up with the local funds needed, in conjunction with provincial Disaster Financial Assistance, to cover recovery costs. The Village has identified a number of areas where mitigation work is needed and is hopeful the Province will step up with help.

Our next stop was Lytton, and I’ll be honest — even though I knew in my mind that virtually nothing had been rebuilt since the destructive fire two years ago, it was a complete shock to see this lack of progress with my own eyes. Shame on the NDP government for delays which have kept people displaced for more than 700 days.

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Village council very recently lifted the State of Emergency and evacuation order so people could finally enter their properties and begin the process of moving forward. This is good news. But where has the Province been? Government must move much more quickly to rebuild homes and infrastructure and restore services. The people of Lytton deserve better.

At our next location, Merritt, we discussed erosion, overland flooding, response and recovery, government programs and more with municipal leaders there. There is still so much work ahead, 18 months after the atmospheric river caused so much destruction. Erosion was also a key concern at our last stop, Hope, where three homes were lost and more properties along the Coquihalla River are at risk. Local officials have invited the Province to come and assess the situation, but are still waiting.

Given that weather events are likely to grow in frequency and intensity in the coming years, rural communities must be supported in their efforts to plan and mitigate for the future. Premier David Eby and the NDP need to show rural B.C. communities that they have their back — not just through promises and announcements, but with real support and results.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.