Canada and British Columbia invest to strengthen community resilience in Lions Bay and Whistler

Lions Bay, British Columbia, July 27, 2021—The governments of Canada and British Columbia continue to invest in local infrastructure during this unprecedented time to meet the needs of communities, enhance quality of life, and support economic recovery from COVID-19. 

Today, Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea-to-Sky Country, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, Bowinn Ma, Member of British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly for North Vancouver-Lonsdale, on behalf of the Honourable Josie Osborne, Minister of Municipal Affairs, and His Worship Ron McLaughlin, Mayor of the Village of Lions Bay, announced funding for two disaster mitigation projects in the Lower Mainland Region of British Columbia. These projects will help build more resilient communities, and protect both people and existing infrastructure.

Among these projects, the Village of Lions Bay will construct a 2-storey addition to the emergency building. The addition will expand the apparatus bays and retrofit the Emergency Operations Centre, BC Ambulance, and Search and Rescue Services. Once completed, multiple emergency services will have additional space to store equipment and hold meetings.

The Resort Municipality of Whistler will create fuel breaks as barriers to slow or stop the spread of wildfires in the  Nesters Hill area. This will help manage the impacts and extent of wildfires and associated risks to residences and critical infrastructure in the community.

The Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia are investing nearly $1 million in these projects through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s new COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream. Canada is contributing over $760,000, and B.C. is contributing  over $190,000.

Quotes

“Municipalities are on the frontlines in responding to the effects of climate change. As extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, municipalities need the resources and funding to manage emergency situations to protect both people and properties. This funding will upgrade Lions Bay’s emergency building and support forest fire mitigation efforts in Whistler. Through investments like these, the federal government is working with all orders of government to build infrastructure that will ensure communities are resilient to climate variability and change.”

Patrick Weiler, Member of Parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea-to-Sky Country, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

“When people need urgent help, it’s important to know that support is available. Expanding the emergency building in Lions Bay is a way to give community members that peace of mind and ensure that the people doing this incredible work have the space, resources, and training they need to save lives.”

Bowinn Ma, Member of British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly for North Vancouver-Lonsdale, on behalf of the Honourable Josie Osborne, Minister of Municipal Affairs 

“Emergency services based in Lions Bay include the Lions Bay Fire Rescue Department, BC Ambulance, our local Emergency Operations Centre and Emergency Support Services, as well as Search and Rescue. The Lions Bay Emergency Building Upgrade Project will provide much needed additional training, equipment and apparatus space for our emergency services, enabling them to increase their levels of service to our community and adjacent communities up and down the Sea to Sky Corridor. This project will also address building, electrical and mechanical deficiencies to meet current safety codes and protect for years to come the health and safety of our first responders. ”

Ron McLaughlin, Mayor of Lions Bay

“We are grateful for this investment from the Federal Government and the Province of BC into the Resort Municipality of Whistler’s fuel thinning program for Nesters Hill. As climate change creates warmer and drier conditions, our vulnerability to wildfires increases significantly. It’s critical that we are able to invest in forest management programs to reduce the risk of wildfire to our communities, wildlife and sensitive ecosystems.”

Jack Crompton, Mayor of the Resort Municipality of Whistler

Quick facts

• To support Canadians and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, a COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream has been added to the over $33-billion Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program to help fund pandemic-resilient infrastructure. Existing program streams have also been adapted to include more eligible project categories.
• Under the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream, the federal cost share for public infrastructure projects is up to 80% in the provinces, and up to 100% in the territories and for projects intended for Indigenous communities. For projects that are federally funded at 80%, British Columbia contributed 20% to provide a total cost share of 100%.
• Across B.C., the federal funding of COVID-19 resilience projects is in addition to more than $4.4 billion that has already been invested in over 580 infrastructure projects under the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan.