POLL: Province says Broten is politicizing flood plain issue

The regulations bar new development in the floodway – the area most prone to flooding – and put restrictions on the kind of development that can occur in the flood fringe. The fringe is the area outside of the floodway, but within the flood plain.

No elected representatives from the provincial government were present at the meeting. Prince Albert Northcote MLA Victoria Jurgens – whose entire constituency is affected by the flood plain – did not attend.

At the meeting, Broten spoke during the question and answer session, noting the absence of Jurgens and other government MLAs.

“Elected representatives from the government should be here to hear firsthand the concerns and the priorities that the community members have,” he said that evening.

Minister of government relations Jim Reiter said on Monday that he advised Jurgens to not attend the meeting because, in his view, it was no place for politics.

“That was an information meeting that was, that if you look at the City’s website when they advertised it, it was for the general public to be able to come and give their feedback and ask technical questions. It wasn’t the place for politicians to grandstand,” Reiter said.

And politicizing the flood plain issue is what Reiter claimed Broten did.

When asked about the potential effects of the flood plain policy on individual homeowners, Reiter replied, “This has kind of taken on a tone and Mr. Broten sort of elevated that that somehow the province initiated some sort of new measures that’s impacting everybody.

“This isn’t a new issue. This has been around for decades.”

While the province incorporated the one-in-500-year flood plain standard into the Statements of Provincial Interest in 2012, it first began to apply it in the 1970s with the federal government’s Flood Damage Reduction Program. The program allowed communities to get flood mitigation funding after the 1974 floods.

“I think you can always debate what’s the appropriate elevation requirements that you have. The province landed on that, like I said, many, many years ago and that’s continued,” Reiter said.

He said it’s important for protecting people and property that there is a standard.

And when it comes to the implementation of the policy, Reiter again had criticism for the opposition leader.

At the meeting, Broten said that whatever the master plan is, there needs to be federal and provincial funding to back it up.

“What clearly needs to be heard in Regina by the Sask. Party MLAs is that the solution needs to be there and the funding needs to be there to back up whatever decision is being made and is being forced or put on to the community,” Broten said last Thursday.

Reiter said it was odd that Broten would word it that way.

“For him to say that the province is forcing it through the Statements of Provincial Interest, the Statements of Provincial Interest was just re-iterating what the practice had been prior.”

He said other cities have adopted and met that standard, but Prince Albert has been a bit of a holdout. He added that his ministry is working with the City.

As for the provision of funding for preventative measures, Reiter said City and ministry officials need to do their due diligence and decide what kind of measures those might be. He said the City may be able to apply for funding under flood mitigation or Building Canada programs.

“I think the thing here frankly is Mr. Broten putting the cart ahead of the horse. We need to let officials do their work and deal with it then.”

But Broten, who on Monday said he attended the meeting because he wanted to hear constituents’ concerns and potential implications of the “provincial government’s decision,” reiterated it is where the local MLA – Jurgens – should have been.

“It’s a real slam to the people of the constituency to skip a meeting like that. I mean this is a super important matter. It’s about safety, it’s about investments in their home, it’s about the future of the city, and for the local MLA to be a no-show, to me, is unacceptable.”

Broten also explained why he said the province should fund flood mitigation related to the one-in-500 year flood plain. He said it isn’t a change coming from city council, but are provincial changes that will affect the city.

“And when you’ve got changes like that, that are so significant with implications for cost and implications for what the community will look like, I think it’s necessary that the province would be there in a meaningful role when it comes to funding the solutions.”

He added that this is why Jurgens should have been present.

“It’s not about ramping up the politics, it’s about listening to your constituents and then working for them,” he said.

He agreed with Reiter on one point – the final plan has to be hammered out before funding for flood mitigation can be discussed. But he said, whatever that plan is, the province has to be there in a meaningful way.

The one-in-500 year flood plain in Prince Albert affects about 2,000 homes in the East and West Flats and the Hazeldell area. In the floodway – the area at greatest risk of flooding – new development is banned. In the flood fringe – the area outside of the floodway, but within the flood plain – there are restrictions on the kinds of development that can take place.

The one-in-500 year standard means the area has a 10 per cent chance of flooding in a 50-year period.

The City of Prince Albert is currently drafting its Official Community Plan (OCP), and according to the Statements of Provincial Interest, cities creating OCPs need to incorporate the one-in-500 year standard into those plans. The City is looking to have its OCP approved this summer.

Reiter and Broten have not yet confirmed that they will be attending the May 7 meeting at Riverside School.

tjames@panow.com

On Twitter: @thiajames

by Thia James

POLL: Province says Broten is politicizing flood plain issue

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