NDP MLAs Coulter and Paddon say Chilliwack will benefit from additional flood recovery funding

CHILLIWACK– New Democrat MLAs Dan Coulter and Kelli Paddon say Chilliwack will benefit from $3.35 million in new provincial funding to support recovery work. Chilliwack is one of ten communities in B.C. that was severely impacted by the November 2021 floods.

“People in the Fraser Valley were devastated by November’s floods, and all levels of government are working hard to make sure we are focusing on communities’ immediate needs, as well as protection,” said Dan Coulter, MLA for Chilliwack. “That’s why we’re investing in recovery while also supporting infrastructure planning for flood preparedness and resiliency in the future.”

The local governments of Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Hope, Kent, Merritt, Mission, Princeton, and Thompson-Nicola Regional District are all receiving direct grants from the $53.6 million in provincial funding to assist them in meeting the additional pressures of on-going recovery and infrastructure planning.

The grant will enable the local government in Chilliwack to take care of initial flood recovery costs not covered by other assistance programs, including infrastructure planning that provides additional resilience for possible future climate events.

“The floods and Landslides that hit us in the Fraser Valley in November turned many people’s lives upside down,” said Kelli Paddon, MLA for Chilliwack-Kent. “Building back better from these floods is a priority we share with the local governments in Kent and Chilliwack. This new investment will support our community directly by funding infrastructure planning in Chilliwack, pump station improvements in Kent, and some of the costs of raising Kamp road.”

This funding is in addition to the more than $2.1 billion Budget 2022 provides to help people recover from the floods and wildfires of last year and to better protect communities against future climate disasters. As well as the $228 million in federal-provincial funding provided to B.C. farmers who suffered extraordinary damages during the November floods.