Alberta’s auditor general says he was denied information he requested from the province’s municipal affairs ministry while attempting to assess flood mitigation plans.
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results. A flooded Calgary Saddledome is seen from an aerial view in Calgary in 2013.
Alberta’s auditor general says he was denied information he requested from the Department of Municipal Affairs while attempting to assess flood mitigation systems. “Municipal Affairs asserts they completed analysis of controlling development in floodways, which was provided to the minister and cabinet,” Doug Wylie“My office sought evidence of the analysis as part of our assessment of implementation, from both Environment and Municipal Affairs.” The auditor general’s office asked Municipal Affairs to provide its analyses. But the ministry told him that its “analysis was privileged, and they could not provide it,” Wylie said. “Our report remains incomplete without this information, which we believe is important to the public,” Wylie wrote. “Examining analysis, prepared by a department, as it relates to risks and risk management is a routine part of our work. As a result, our findings may not reflect pertinent and significant information, and our work is incomplete in this regard.”In a statement, a spokesperson in Alberta’s municipal affairs ministry wrote that it values the mandate and statutory powers of the auditor general's office and carefully considered its requests for information. "Municipal Affairs worked collaboratively with the Office of the Auditor General throughout its review, and the ministry shared non-privileged information openly and transparently with the Office of the Auditor General throughout this process," reads a statement from Michael Francoeur, assistant communications director with the ministry., that I recall, and now this, where we’ve been refused access to what has been deemed privileged information. I’ve been with the organization a long time … so, I would say this is an uncommon practice,” Wylie said. The report into flood mitigation systems was one of eight released by the auditor general’s office on Thursday morning.In 2015, the auditor general’s office made four recommendations as part of an audit into flood mitigation systems, in the wake of the province’s 2013 floods that displaced more than 100,000 people and cost more than $5 billion. That audit found weaknesses in flood hazard mapping and inconsistent approaches to managing development in flood hazard areas. It also determined that Alberta Municipal Affairs had not finalized regulations or enforcement processes for land use in floodways.In his most recent report, Wylie wrote that three of the office’s recommendations from the 2015 audit had been implemented. But he wasn't satisfied with the government's work on the fourth recommendation: to designate flood hazard areas and complete floodway development regulation. “Environment’s risk analysis for stopping flood hazard area designations failed to show how existing and planned processes would effectively mitigate public safety and financial risks,” the report reads. A spokesperson in Alberta's environment ministry wrote in an email that the government acted on three of Wylie’s recommendations, but would not implement the fourth. “In Alberta’s 125-year history, the province has never regulated development in Water Act-designated flood-hazard areas. The OAG is proposing we take away local governments’ authority to make appropriate land use and development decisions,” the statement reads. “The best way to protect Albertans is by creating more flood maps to support safe planning. We’ve created over 1,850 kilometres of new flood maps since 2020. That’s more in five years than the previous 35 years combined.”Joel is a reporter/editor with CBC Calgary. In fall 2021, he spent time with CBC's bureau in Lethbridge. He was previously the editor of the Airdrie City View and Rocky View Weekly newspapers. He hails from Swift Current, Sask. Reach him by email at joel.dryden@cbc.ca
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