Question Period Note: Government Response to Flooding

• Climate change is disproportionally impacting
Indigenous communities due to their often remote
locations, close ties to the land and reliance on natural
resources.
• Indigenous Services Canada continues to work closely
with First Nations, provincial and territorial partners,
and community organizations to plan, address and
mitigate flooding.
• The Emergency Management Assistance Program will
continue to support eligible First Nation communities
affected by flooding by providing recovery-related
expenses, including the repair or replacement of homes,
roads and other infrastructure.

ISC’s Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP) helps eligible
communities access emergency assistance services. EMAP provides funding to
First Nation communities so they can build resiliency, prepare for natural hazards
and respond to emergencies using the four pillars of emergency management
(mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery).
• ISC works with provincial and territorial governments to ensure First Nation
communities have access to comparable emergency assistance services available
to other residents in their respective jurisdictions.
• Provinces and territories are responsible for emergency management within their
areas of jurisdiction and therefore, have the expertise and capacity to deliver
services on behalf of ISC. To ensure that First Nation communities have the
assistance they need within the broader provincial or territorial emergency
management system, ISC is in regular contact with provincial and territorial
emergency management officials.
• ISC is working with First Nation leaders across the country, and the provinces and
territories to advance trilateral emergency management agreements. These
agreements will see First Nations become full and equal partners in emergency
management moving forward.
• ISC works with Public Safety Canada to ensure the safety and wellbeing of First
Nations.

If pressed on flood prevention - climate change and disaster
mitigation efforts
• Engaging Indigenous leaders and implementing
adaptation measures are keys to reducing impacts and
increasing resiliency in communities.
• ISC continues to offer a variety of programs, such as
non-structural and structural mitigation funding as well
as capacity building initiatives that assist communities
in preparing for floods and other emergency events.
• We will continue to work with communities to leverage
their local knowledge to prepare for and mitigate the
effects of future flooding.