CEO Charles
Brindamour underscores value of natural assets in building
climate resiliency
MONTREAL, April 25, 2019 /CNW/ - During the Nature
Champions Summit today, Intact Financial Corporation
("Intact") (TSX: IFC) announced a commitment of $2.3 million to 16 Canadian charitable partners –
from coast to coast – focused on protecting Canadians from the
impacts of climate change.
"Climate change is having an enormous human and economic
impact," said Charles Brindamour,
CEO of Intact. "Canadians – especially government and business
leaders – can lead the way in addressing and managing the
associated risks. By making our country one of the most climate
resilient in the world, we can protect our nature, our economy and
our people."
The 16 selected charitable partners explore concrete solutions
for managing climate change, including how the maintenance and
restoration of natural assets can protect against flooding. For
example, ALUS Canada: A Weston Family Initiative, recipient of
$248,000, aims to establish natural
infrastructure projects on environmentally-sensitive, marginal
agricultural lands to increase water retention, decrease overland
flood, lower erosion risks and filter water.
"As this week's Summit has made clear, nature and natural
resources are, and have always been, among Canada's greatest assets," said Brindamour.
"It is becoming increasingly apparent that these resources can be
harnessed as critical infrastructure and leveraged to manage the
risks associated with climate change. We have a responsibility to
advance this work to ensure the long-term resilience of our
country."
Quick Facts
- From 2009 to 2015, the Federal Disaster Financial Assistance
Arrangements payment to provinces was more than the previous 39
years combined.
- Floods in Central and Eastern
Canada have cost our economy more than $3 billion in the last two years – and 40 per
cent of property claims are flood related.
- Last year, the Insurance Bureau of Canada revealed that the average cost of a
flooded basement is $43,000.
- Not only do natural assets help maintain biodiversity, they can
act as a strong complement or a viable alternative to built
infrastructure options for flood mitigation.
- According to a 2018 report by Insurance Bureau of Canada, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation
and International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD),
wetlands can reduce flood damages by 40 per cent.
As part of its commitment to building more resilient
communities, Intact has been at the forefront of climate change
adaptation in Canada for the past
ten years. In 2015, the company established – by funding
$4.25 million – the Intact Centre on
Climate Adaptation at the University of
Waterloo, an applied research centre dedicated to helping
Canadians cope with the effects of extreme weather and climate
change. The Intact Centre focuses on developing practical solutions
for Canadian homeowners, including through a dedicated home flood
protection program and the development of new flood and building
code standards in collaboration with Canadian
governments.
The Intact Foundation will be investing another $1 million in climate adaptation projects in
2019. Applications from charitable organizations will be accepted
starting in September.
Current Charitable Partners:
- ALUS Canada – implementing natural infrastructure
projects in marginal or inefficient-to-farm agricultural lands.
- Bluenose Coastal Action – working directly with
municipal partners in southwest Nova
Scotia to locate, design and install low impact development
projects (LIDS) with the aim of improving storm water
management.
- Community Forests International – reversing the
clearcutting trend and embracing new financial tools that
incentivize natural infrastructure improvement for flood risk
reduction.
- Conseil régional de l'environnement et du développement
durable de l'Outaouais – reducing the impact of urban heat
islands by implementing urban greening initiatives.
- Ducks Unlimited Canada – restoring urban wetlands as a
form of natural infrastructure that will increase community
resiliency through flood mitigation while also enhancing water
quality, wildlife habitat and outdoor recreation opportunities.
- FireSmart – addressing the need for a standardized
system that offers defendable, detailed customized wildfire risk
assessments and tracked measurable risk reduction for homes.
- Green Calgary –
promoting flood prevention through rainwater harvesting.
- Green Learning Canada Foundation – engaging youth
through flood education, with the goal of helping them prepare
their homes and schools for a flood event.
- Nature-Action Québec – shoreline
restauration of the Hazen Bleury and Barbotte rivers targeted for
their vulnerability to flood
- Nature Québec – helping municipalities reduce the number
of heat islands and air pollution through heat island mapping,
public awareness and urban greening
- Nature Conservancy of Canada – protecting and restoring wetlands
in Ontario and Quebec to help reduce the impact of severe
storms.
- The Miistakis Institute of the Rockies Inc. – creating a
least conflict lands planning tool to guide placement of large
scale solar and wind projects.
- Sentier Urbain – creating urban gardens to improve water
management and reduce CO2 emissions in the Garden Circuit in
Southern Montreal.
- University of Alberta –
developing a computer program that recognizes large-scale
atmospheric patterns that lead to extreme fire weather using
AI.
- University of British
Columbia – developing post-fire recovery strategies to
prevent future forest fires and increase climate resilience in 21
Canadian communities.
- WWF-Canada – restoring water to the urban landscape to
improve water management and strengthen Montreal's resilience by uncovering
underground rivers and recreating new urban rivers.
About Intact Financial Corporation
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider
of property and casualty (P&C) insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty
insurance in North America, with
over $10 billion in total annual
premiums. The Company has approximately 14,000 full- and part-time
employees who serve more than five million personal, business and
public-sector clients through offices in Canada and the U.S. In Canada, Intact distributes insurance under the
Intact Insurance brand through a wide network of brokers, including
its wholly-owned subsidiary BrokerLink, and directly to consumers
through belairdirect. In the U.S., OneBeacon Insurance Group, a
wholly-owned subsidiary, provides specialty insurance products
through independent agencies, brokers, wholesalers and managing
general agencies.
SOURCE Intact Financial Corporation