It was expected there would be something damning or at the least extremely costly in the flood mitigation report which many thought was the reason the provincial government was hesitant to release the document.
The flood report, submitted by former Highwood MLA George Groeneveld in November 2006, was finally released on July 26 and Albertans are openly asking why the six-year delay?
There was nothing in the report which was unexpected. It included 18 recommendations which would have cost the Province $306 million to implement. Some of the recommendations are common sense, such as no longer providing disaster relief funds for new development in flood risk areas and three levels of government working together to fund the construction of flood mitigation projects to protect Alberta’s vulnerable communities.
These recommendations were expected and only make sense so why was the report shelved for six years?
There were no bombshells which would have blown provincial budgets out of the water or recommendations which would have drowned municipalities or developers.
If anything sitting on the report may have proved costly to the Alberta government.
Wildrose leader and Highwood MLA Danielle Smith has a point when she charges had the report been released in 2006 flood mitigation projects could have been eligible for federal economic stimulus funding. In essence, many of the programs suggested in the report could have already been completed with a influx of federal grant money.
The next step would be to move forward with the recommendations in the flood report. However, the Alberta government should know it is not always better late than never.
