Bill Blair, the federal minister of emergency preparedness, and Mike Farnworth, the British Columbia minister of public safety, speak with reporters in Vancouver. The news conference follows the fifth and final meeting of the committee of federal and B.C. ministers on disaster response and climate resilience, which was struck in November 2021 to coordinate responses to extreme weather events in the province. Minister Blair announces that the federal government will be delivering advance payments of over $870 million to B.C. through the Disaster Financial Assistant Arrangements to support the floods, landslides and storm recovery and rebuilding efforts currently taking place in the province. The payment is in addition to the $207 million that Ottawa provided to B.C. in June 2022 to
support 2021 wildfire recovery efforts. Liberal MPs Carla Qualtrough (Delta) and Harjit Sajjan (Vancouver South) also make remarks. (July 18, 2022)