Mother Nature gave us a peek into our climate change future and a chance to do more than simply react to disasters. While city and hydro crews were repairing crucial infrastructure devastated by the ice storm, TEA started planning for what City Council should do to ensure the next time a severe weather event hits, the city is more prepared. 

Right after New Year’s Day, TEA’s Executive Director submitted a commentary that was published in the Toronto Star called Lessons for Toronto city council from Mother Nature.

[Flickr Image by Canadian Pacific]

Last week, City Hall was preparing for an emergency Council meeting to ask for Provincial and Federal funding to deal with the July flood and December ice storm. TEA was there talking to Councillors and the media. Our message was simple: it’s not enough to deal with the aftermath of these storms. We also need to prepare the city for future severe weather events, which scientists say will increase as the climate changes.

TEA proposed a set of specific actions City Hall should take in the next year to improve Toronto's resiliency to climate change and severe weather events. On Monday, January 13, City Council unanimously approved TEA's recommendations when they were put forward by Scarborough Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker.