How to deal with rebuilding after floods

The Calgary Herald published this letter on July 13, 2013:

Defenders of the Calgary flood status quo, such as [Calgary Herald columnist] Don Braid, could be more thoughtful and creative. Where houses have been destroyed, it is reasonable to tie rebuilding money to certain conditions. In the lots most at risk, this could be a condition to build elsewhere, with governments purchasing the lot for parkland, at the former market value. In other cases it could be rebuilding with mitigation, such as no basement. In intermediate cases, homeowners could be offered a voluntary relocation package.

The devastated homeowners certainly should not be blamed for their dire situation, almost certainly not being warned at the time the house was built or purchased, that it might be destroyed by flood. However, as a society, there is no point throwing good money after bad, and while we should make sure that everyone gets back into a home, we could significantly reduce our exposure to the next flood by requiring or requesting that the new home be in a safer area in the few homes or businesses in Calgary that are most exposed to future flood danger.

David Crowe
Calgary
403-861-2225

Tragedy at Lac Megantic

Everyone who has voted for a political party that promised to reduce red tape and regulation on companies (despite their big and getting bigger profits) and everyone who has cussed out unions because they want a decent wage for workers (despite concessions given, often futilely, over the years) bears some responsibility for the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

How can we accept that a train carrying dangerous cargo would, for even one second, be unattended?

How can we accept that a train carrying dangerous cargo would not have a backup engineer on board?

How did we come to accept that corporate profits are really more important than our lives?

How many more Lac-Mégantics will it take before “regulation” and “government oversight” are not seen as four-letter words?

Published in the Globe and Mail