Marco Mendicino, parliamentary secretary to the minister of infrastructure and communities, and Darrin Canniff, mayor of Chatham-Kent, announced funding for a flood mitigation project in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent.

“Preparing our communities by taking important steps to adapt to climate change is essential in reducing the devastating impacts of natural disasters on Ontario families and businesses,” said Marco Mendicino, parliamentary secretary to the minister of infrastructure and communities. “By investing today in flood and storm mitigation projects in Chatham-Kent, we are minimizing the costly effects of future weather hazards from bodies of water like Thames River. This helps protect homes and businesses, maintain safe drinking water, and enable families and their children to prosper for generations to come.”

The project involves reinforcing shorelines on the Thames River, Sydenham River, and McGregor Creek. This ensures that local essential services have the increased capacity needed to manage extreme weather events. The 6th Street Dam will also be replaced in order to reduce potential flooding and ice jams from the nearby rivers. Increasing the capacity to handle storms will reduce property damage and provide over 56,000 residents with a safer and healthier community for years to come.

“High water levels during the last two years have tested our flood control measures to their capacity and beyond,” said Darrin Canniff, mayor of Chatham-Kent. “The extensive work needed to protect residents and property along the Thames and Sydenham rivers would present an enormous burden on local taxpayers. We are extremely grateful that the federal government is aware of the issue and, more importantly, has stepped forward in partnership to help.”

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The Government of Canada is investing over $16.5 million to this project through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent providing the remainder.

“Extreme weather is becoming more severe, more frequent, more damaging and more expensive because of climate change,” said Ralph Goodale, minister of public safety. “By investing in the infrastructure that protects our neighbourhoods, businesses, and families, we are building communities that can withstand future natural disasters and thrive for generations to come.”

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