The Voice of Canada News

John Yakabuski, Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry, released the following statement:

“Our government’s top priority has always been the safety of the people of Ontario. This has been a difficult time for many of our communities who have dealt admirably with the challenges posed by this year’s flooding.

Today our government wrapped up engagement sessions where we heard from municipal and industry leaders on how we can improve the province’s resilience to flooding. The sessions in Huntsville, Pembroke, and Ottawa were very productive and our government appreciates all of those who took the time to share their insights.

The feedback gathered from these sessions will be used to inform our decisions as we determine next steps.

We look forward to continuing to work with our municipal and industry partners. The only way that we will find effective solutions is to put politics aside and work together to prioritize the safety of Ontarians and the protection of our communities.

I would like to thank Premier Doug Ford, who demonstrated leadership in initiating the creation of an internal task force to review how we can better plan for flooding events.

I would also like to thank my colleagues who took part in the engagement sessions — Minister Vic Fedeli, Minister Merrilee Fullerton, Parliamentary Assistant Toby Barrett, Parliamentary Assistant Jim McDonell, MPP Norm Miller, MPP Goldie Ghamari, and MPP Jeremy Roberts.

I invite the people of Ontario to share your feedback on how we can improve the province’s resilience at Ontario.ca/FloodSurvey.