A catastrophe research centre and Canada’s insurance sector applaud the “forward-thinking” resilient roofing rebate programme that helped hundreds of Calgarians protect their houses.
Thursday, the City of Calgary was awarded the first-ever Resilience in Recovery award from the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR) for the rebate program put in place following the billion-dollar hailstorm that hit Calgary in June 2020.
1600 Calgary households were able to install impact-resistant roofing thanks to the $3000 rebate.
As we look to the future, we are aware that climate change will make many of the storms we experience more frequent and severe. If we don’t incorporate climate resilience into our planning right away, damage to buildings and public infrastructure will keep rising, according to Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.
The provincial government at the time did not provide the financial aid that homeowners were seeking, which prompted Calgary City Council to introduce the resilient roofing rebate.
“One approach we used was the rebate programme. It was a move to prepare our communities for the future. As we convert to constructing materials that can resist increasingly harsh weather events, this effort proved beneficial to both Calgarians and the environment, Gondek said.
The programme proved successful, according to Stuart Dalgliesh, the city’s manager of planning and development services, in educating people about resilient roofing and helping homeowners upgrade their roofs. Dalgliesh added work is underway to have resilient roofing added to building standards for homes in hailstorm alley, a stretch from High River, Alta. , to Rocky Mountain House that sees an increased number and intensity of annual hailstorms when compared to the rest of the province.
Because of the program’s effectiveness, Dalgliesh added, “we discovered just how committed Calgarians are to lowering climate-related hazards to their properties by building back better.”
Following the 2020 hailstorm, the ICLR projected damages at between $1. 5 and $2 billion, according to Paul Kovacs, executive director of the ICLR.
“Calgary ran and took the lead on how to help the community be better prepared going forward,” he said.
Calgary’s initiative, according to Carol Jardine, president of Wawanesa Mutual Insurance’s Canadian property and casualty business, set a great example for cities across the nation.
“The insurance industry and the Institute of Catastrophic Loss Reduction have always looked for leadership in communities who are prepared to work with their constituents in order to help them become more climate resilient,” Jardine said.
“Climate change is here, and it is our duty as community leaders to actually protect people and their most valuable assets, which are their homes and businesses.”
City of Calgary’s resilient roofing rebate programme has received national recognition.
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