Climate change is threatening Canada’s crucial transportation infrastructure, putting the country’s long-term economic prosperity at risk, the Senate Committee on Transport and Communications said in a report released last month
Based on hearings held over two years, the committee’s report focuses on four case studies across the country: the Chignecto Isthmus in Eastern Canada, Canada’s North, Vancouver’s airport and marine port, and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway. Floods, forest fires, landslides, storms, and melting permafrost are just some of the climate threats facing these vital national transportation links, the report said.
“Climate change is happening and it’s only going to get worse. Canada is in no way ready for what is to come,” said Senator Julie Miville-Dechêne, Deputy Chair of the committee.
Roads and railways servicing the Port of Vancouver — which enables the trade of more than $300 billion in goods each year, including Prairie grains — are vulnerable to extreme weather events.
The report noted the impact of the atmospheric river event in November 2021 that led to flooding and landslides. The event completely paralyzed British Columbia’s supply chain for over a week, cutting off access to the Port of Vancouver and flooding several major roads, including a part of Highway 1, the major east-west corridor through the Fraser Valley. The disruption of port operations represented $840 million in cargo affected per day.
Along with the Vancouver airport, the report said the port is vulnerable to climate-change-induced flood hazards, adding the location of both facilities make them susceptible to sea-level rise, storm surges and earthquakes that may significantly impact their operating capacity. It is also projected that the sea level will rise more than one metre by the end of the century in the Vancouver area, which will likely cause more severe flooding.
A key economic driver in Ontario and Quebec, the St. Lawrence Seaway faces challenges that include warmer temperatures, unpredictable water levels and reduced ice cover, which results in shoreline erosion.
The full report can be seen here:
https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/441/TRCM/reports/TRCM_Climate-Infrastructure-Report_E.pdf
