After Popular Attention Washes Away: Check鈥慽n Post鈥慒iona
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Hurricane Fiona remains the most expensive extreme weather event ever recorded in Atlantic Canada and is now the seventh largest in Canada's history in terms of insured damages. Average annual losses from disasters have quadrupled since 2008 and are forecast to be $15.4 billion in Canada by 2030. The federal government launched the Hurricane Fiona Recovery Fund, totaling $300 million over 2 years. The province of Nova Scotia launched a $40M financial relief package, with additional sector-specific compensation. Has this relief funding reached those that need it most? How are communities repairing and rebuilding and how are individuals, especially those with a disability recovering post-Fiona? How do we ensure relief programs and services are accessible and support people with disabilities? This panel will explore the challenges in post-disaster recovery and the opportunities for improvement.
Explore our work on Emergency Response听and Evacuating Persons with Disabilities
Anne Camozzi
Anne Camozzi of Antigonish, Nova Scotia is a senior with visual and hearing impairment as well as using a wheelchair for mobility. A graduate of York University with an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts, she also has a Masters in Adult Education from St. Francis Xavier University. Anne currently works as an artist, writer, and disability advocate. Her eclectic career includes working as a CBC TV and Radio News Reporter, owner/operator of two consulting companies specializing in environmental education, facilitation, and strategic planning, as well a term as Vice-President, University Advancement, at St. Francis Xavier University. She was involved in the development of Bill 59, the new provincial accessibility legislation, and has been an active advocate for inclusion of disabled听voices听in emergency planning.
Paul Kovacs
Paul Kovacs听is听founder听and Executive Director听of the , Canada鈥檚 leading听disaster research institute. ICLR is an international centre of excellence听for听integrated research on disaster risk听and a member of the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutes.
Paul听is Canada鈥檚 leading authority听on insurance and climate extremes.听He was听a听contributing author to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change听for more than听twenty听years, the world's leading forum for the study of climate issues.听Paul听was part of the team that听won听the听Nobel Peace Prize听鈥渇or their efforts to build up and disseminate听greater knowledge about man-made climate change.鈥�
For more than听forty听years Paul has been a听popular commentator on insurance, disaster safety and economic policy. He has written more than 200 publications and is a passionate champion for insurance听and听resilience听to听extreme听events.听He听has worked听in private industry, the public sector听and academia.听Paul听is听Chair of Ontario鈥檚 Advisory Panel on Climate Change,听a member of the Board for the Global Alliance of Disaster Research Institutesand Chair of the听North听American听Alliance听of Hazard and Disaster Research Institutes.听He is a proud husband and father, with听a growing collection of bow ties.
Kaitlynne Lowe
Kaitlynne Lowe is an Action Canada Fellow (鈥�21) and a graduate of the Masters of Public Administration Program (2019) at H漫画 University. She has spent five years conducting research work at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance.听 Her work has focused on accessibility issues in Canada鈥檚 emergency management response to improve the experience of persons with disabilities.听听Kaitlynne co-authored an听听and presented on a panel regarding this topic and post-tropical storm Fiona.
Her current research is examining听how emergency evacuation processes support people with disabilities and improvements that can be made, specifically regarding听听and return to the community. She has听听for Employment and Social Development Canada (2020) on emergency management policies and programs for persons with disabilities across Canada.听She also conducts research analyzing government responses to the covid-19 pandemic.
Amanda McDougall-Merrill
Amanda McDougall-Merrill听was elected Mayor of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality in听October,听2020, making history by becoming the first female Mayor of CBRM.
Mayor McDougall-Merrill听is a Cape Breton University graduate in Political Science and听hails from Main-a-Dieu, a small fishing village of just about 200 people, on the beautiful island of Cape Breton, NS. 听
Prior to her election as Mayor,听Amanda听served听as听Councillor听in District 8 and as听the Executive Director of听ACAP听Cape Breton. 听In听2021, she served听as Acting President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Municipalities (NSFM) 鈥� the voice of 49 municipalities across the province听鈥� and as its President the following year.
Amanda听and her husband Kevin听have two sons.听It is her boys that serve as a constant reminder of how decisions around the Council table can impact the future of our communities and the residents she humbly serves.听
Kevin Quigley (Chair)
Kevin Quigley is the scholarly director at the MacEachen Institute for Public Policy and Governance and a professor in H漫画鈥檚 School of Public Administration, Faculty of Management. He specializes in public sector risk and crisis management, strategic management and critical infrastructure protection.
Professor Quigley founded the Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Initiative at H漫画, an interdisciplinary research team that seeks to enhance collaboration between multiple stakeholders on questions concerning the management of Canada鈥檚 critical infrastructure.
He has published an acclaimed book on critical infrastructure, numerous articles in academic journals and studies for a professional audience; his newest book,听听was published by McGill-Queen's in November 2017 and shortlisted for the Donner Prize.