PRESS RELEASE | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Montreal, April 25, 2019 – ALUS Canada thanks Intact for nearly $250,000 to fund ALUS projects in three provinces.
ALUS Canada is delighted to receive a generous donation of $248,850 in new funding from the Intact Foundation, in support of ALUS’ natural-infrastructure projects benefiting Canadian communities in three provinces.
Intact Financial Corporation’s CEO, Charles Brindamour, announced this gift at the 2019 Nature Champions Summit in Montreal, which brought together global leaders to find innovative solutions to protect nature and biodiversity.
Intact Financial Corporation’s CEO, Charles Brindamour, announced $248,000 in new funding for ALUS Canada at the Nature Champions Summit on April 25, 2019.
This ALUS funding is part of Intact’s larger commitment of $2.3 million to 15 Canadian charitable organizations as part of their Climate Change Adaptation program, and underscores their confidence in the value of natural assets for building climate resiliency in this country.
“It is gratifying to see ALUS recognized, by this leader in the Canadian insurance industry, as part of the solution for some of the most difficult environmental challenges of our time,” said ALUS Canada CEO Bryan Gilvesy.
Specifically, this new funding will flow to the ALUS Ontario East program, Manitoba’s ALUS Little Saskatchewan River program and Alberta’s ALUS Wheatland and ALUS Rocky View programs, to help 46 participating farmers and ranchers establish and maintain 365 acres of ALUS projects, including wetland riparian projects.
In this way, Intact will help ALUS implement natural-infrastructure projects upstream of three major Canadian urban centres: Calgary, Brandon and Ottawa.
Among the many ecosystem services produced by such ALUS projects are erosion control and flood mitigation. Increased flooding, in particular, is a major environmental issue currently facing Canadian communities, as described in Intact’s press release :
- Floods in Central and Eastern Canada have cost our economy more than $3 billion in the last two years;
- When it comes to insurance, 40 percent of property claims are flood-related;
- The average cost of a flooded basement is $43,000 (per Insurance Bureau of Canada);
- The Federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements paid provinces more from 2009 to 2015 than in the previous 39 years combined;
- Wetlands can reduce flood damages by 40 percent, according to a 2018 report by the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the International Institute for Sustainable Development and the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation.
“As this week’s Summit has made clear, nature and natural resources are, and have always been, among Canada’s greatest assets,” said Brindamour. “It is becoming increasingly apparent that these resources can be harnessed as critical infrastructure and leveraged to manage the risks associated with climate change. We have a responsibility to advance this work to ensure the long-term resilience of our country.”
Wetlands and riparian zones that have been enhanced through ALUS are a proven method of helping Canadian communities mitigate flood risks while also improving the environment in many other ways and producing ecosystem services such as cleaner air, cleaner water and more biodiversity.
ABOUT INTACT FINANCIAL CORPORATION
Intact Financial Corporation (TSX: IFC) is the largest provider of property and casualty insurance in Canada and a leading provider of specialty insurance in North America, with over $10 billion in total annual premiums. The Company has approximately 14,000 full- and part-time employees who serve more than five million personal, business and public-sector clients through offices in Canada and the U.S.
ABOUT ALUS CANADA
ALUS Canada, A Weston Family Initiative, is a national program helping farmers and ranchers to produce cleaner air, cleaner water, more biodiversity and other ecosystem services in their communities. ALUS Canada has disbursed nearly $8.1 M in funding to ALUS communities across Canada, an investment that is multiplied by farmers, ranchers and communities on the ground. As a result, there are now nearly 24,000 acres enrolled in the ALUS program, thanks to 750 participants from 25 communities in six provinces, and the program is rapidly expanding. For more information, please visit ALUS.ca
