Flooding in Manitoba has been a part of life for its residents since its existence. People still tell stories of the flood of 1950 and the many local buildings at the time that benefited from salvaged wood from flooding in Winnipeg. The destruction was so catastrophic that it resulted years later in the construction of the Red River Floodway. Criticized by many at the time, the vision of Premier Duff Roblin has saved countless millions of dollars in property damage.
Following what became known as the Flood of the Century in 1997, an expansion of the Floodway was undertaken which was a significant benefit during the 2011 flood. The protection that Winnipeg has enjoyed from the floodway has not gone unnoticed. Further south along the Red River, the City of Fargo is expecting their new Floodway (officially known as the Fargo-Moorhead Area Diversion Project) to be operational by next year. This multi-billion dollar project was built using a Public-Private Partnership and has been supported by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Floodways are not the only form of flood protection in the Red River Valley. Many Communities along the Red River utilize community or personal ring dikes to protect towns and individual homes. None of this prevents flooding from happening but it has reduced the financial and personal loss by extraordinary amounts over the past century.
Of course, flooding from the Red River from the south and the Assiniboine River from the west is not the only type of flooding that Manitobans experience. In recent years, we have seen torrential rainfall events result in significant overland flooding that has overwhelmed local drainage capacity and flooded basements. In fact, this was the case the past two years in the City of Steinbach and just over the last week in other parts of Manitoba.
These types of events are more difficult to plan for and mitigate, although efforts are undertaken, and the ability for a government to provide some financial relief for residents is important. That is why residents who were impacted by flooding over the past week were no doubt relieved to hear Manitoba NDP Premier Wab Kinew promise that there would be financial support through the provincial disaster relief program even if the long-established criteria were not met. He stated that rural Manitobans would not be left behind.
That is a proper response for any government, but it no doubt left residents of Steinbach, who were impacted by flooding two consecutive years, frustrated and confused. Because the disaster relief program which Premier Kinew now says is flexible is the same one he told Steinbach residents could not be altered and that they were out of luck. In fact, the best he could offer residents was to tell them to get better insurance. Many local residents have been asking why, when their basements were flooded from torrential rain two consecutive years, the province turned their back on them when now it seems there is such a willingness to help others. It is the same disaster relief program so why the double standard?
As of this writing, the Premier has not provided Steinbach residents with any answer or acknowledgement but one is deserved.
Dealing with flooding in Manitoba takes a lot of things. It requires foresight, which Duff Roblin had. It requires preparation, which many communities have demonstrated. But it also requires fairness, which does not seem to be a hallmark of how the current NDP have dealt with flooding across the province. But there is still time for the provincial government to demonstrate fairness for all residents. Because when it comes to flooding, there are no borders and everyone is truly in it together.
