THUNDER BAY – The City of Dryden donated to Thunder Bay’s flood relief efforts in 2012, now a local city councillor says reciprocating that assistance is the right thing to do.
Coun. Andrew Foulds will bring a resolution before council on Monday calling for Thunder Bay to donate $5,000 to Dryden to help relieve the costs that city incurred during last week’s flooding .
“The city of Thunder Bay can really relate to what recently happened in Dryden and it’s very, very difficult,” Foulds said.
“It’s difficult on residents, it’s difficult on businesses, it’s difficult on public infrastructure. We know what they’re going through and it’s absolutely critical that northern municipalities stand shoulder to shoulder, neighbours helping neighbours.”
Foulds also hopes council will support sharing research the city has conducted regarding infrastructure responses to increasing climate change-fueled, extreme weather events.
“I believe we’re leading the way when it comes to things like stormwater management and climate change adaptation. Those plans were designed for Thunder Bay but there are some strategies and concepts that other municipalities could perhaps take advantage of.”
Should council approve Foulds’ motion, he hopes the money could be used to help leverage greater financial assistance from senior levels of government to rebuild damaged infrastructure in the city 350 kilometres west of Thunder Bay.
“Clearly, we’re going to get more severe and frequent storm events and municipalities have to be prepared for that,” Foulds said.
“They have to build more resilient infrastructure. This is going to be a challenge for municipalities because there’s a huge infrastructure gap. We can’t do all the heavy lifting alone.”
