National Disaster Mitigation Program

In 2015 the Government of Canada announced the National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP). The NDMP is designed to provide federal funding for disaster mitigation projects.

Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC) earmarked $200M over five years to be cost shared with the provinces through a 50/50 funding model. There is no set funding allotment to any particular province. All proposals will be assessed on a merit basis

NDMP is primarily designed to “address rising flood risks and costs, while building the foundation for future informed mitigation investments”. NDMP is aimed at supporting projects that “build a body of knowledge of flood risks in Canada”, namely risk assessments and flood mapping. The program has two objectives;

1. focusing investments on significant, recurring flood risk and costs; and
2. advancing work to facilitate private residential insurance for overland flooding.

Submitted proposals must meet each of the four “project streams” requirements in turn,

1. Risk Assessments
2. Flood Mapping
3. Mitigation Planning
4. Investments in Non-structural and Small Scale Structural Mitigation Projects

All proposals – whether coming from a municipality or a provincial government department – must be vetted by the province before being submitted to Public Safety Canada. Projects will be selected for funding through a competitive, merit-based process using objective and measurable criteria.

The Department Justice and Public Safety (DJPS) is the lead provincial department and has appointed a Provincial Coordinator to oversee the process. The NDMP Coordinator will manage the vetting and submission process of proposals for submission to PSEPC.

Click here for more information about the program on Public Safety Canada’s website.

Only provincial and territorial governments are eligible to apply to the federal government under the NDMP, but provinces and territories can partner with other organizations.

New Brunswick welcomes project proposals from municipalities, regional service commissions, and other eligible organizations.

• Municipalities, regional service commissions, and other public sector bodies,
• private sector bodies,
• band councils,
• international non-government organizations, or
• any combination of these entities.

New Brunswick will assess all project proposals received and submit selected proposals to the federal government. If a project is approved by the federal government, New Brunswick will flow through the federal funds to the partner organization.

New Brunswick encourages project proposals that include participation by multiple partners. For example, a Regional Service Commission could submit a proposal that includes membership from municipalities, local service districts and First Nations and have a representative on a project steering committee.

Examples of Proposed Mitigation Projects

• All Hazard Risk Assessment/Analysis
  - Collect data on hazards
  - Map hazards
  - Identify vulnerabilities
  - Identify critical infrastructure
  - Identify impact of hazards
  - Identify mitigative measures
• Cost would be depended on the size of the municipality and hiring of subject matter experts such as engineers, technical experts, consultants, etc., resources required such as data collection software, GIS Software, etc.
• Updating storm water management system.
• Storm surge protection in coastal communities such as berms, flood walls, dikes, building up roads etc.
• Flood proof provincial buildings such as schools, nursing homes and hospitals.
• Build up, rerouting or replace roads, culverts and bridges.
• Build up, rerouting of provincial trails that are next to water ways and are prone to flooding

The Department of Justice and Public Safety as the lead department and the NDMP Program Coordinator is responsible for;

• Working with the stakeholders and advises on completing the NDMP project submissions.
• Collect and review project submissions for format and completeness.
• Share the complete project submissions with the review board.
• Chair the interdepartmental review board and maintain records.
• Provide reports and briefing notes to senior leadership as required.

Established a NDMP Review Board/Committee consisting of subject matter experts from lead departments and is responsible to;

• Assess the content of each complete submission.
• Vet and prioritize each NDMP submission prior to sending them to PSC. (Seek DM level approval if required)
• Recommend projects better suited for the DFAA Mitigation funds.

Applicants will be notified whether their project has been selected for submission to the federal government.

The NDMP Program Coordinator will screen all project proposals for compliance with the federal program guidelines.  Project proposals that are incomplete or do not comply with the program guidelines cannot be submitted to the federal government for funding consideration.

In addition to the federal program requirements, the following are New Brunswick requirements:

• Organizations submitting a project proposal must identify their own source of funds for the 50% of project costs not covered by federal funding.
• Project proposals must have support from the municipality where the project is located.

Prioritization of provincial project submissions

The NDMP requires New Brunswick to prioritize projects submitted in each of the project streams. Funding decisions are then made by the federal government under a competitive, merit-based process.

The NDMP Review Board/Committee will prioritize submissions based on the following considerations:

• The project addresses or quantifies a site-specific flood risk to the public in areas that have experienced historic flooding and/or flood damage.
• The project contributes to ensuring that people and property are protected from flooding and related hazards, with priority to high risk communities.
• The project targets a part of New Brunswick where flood plain mapping is out of date or non-existent; where there is an immediate need for updating and where the mapping is anticipated to increase accuracy of the understanding of flood risk.
• If several closely-ranked projects are submitted in the same stream, considerations may include value for money, population and number of structures potentially impacted by flooding, and presence of provincially significant critical infrastructure within the project boundary.

Annual deadline for project submissions to PSC is October 31 of each year.  Note below the Provincial deadlines.

Fifth and final call for proposals, for projects beginning in 2019-20:

The deadline for project proposals is expected to be in September 2018. Please check this website for updates.

The Provincial NDMP Coordinator is Marc Steeves. If you have any further questions regarding the program and require any assistance or advice in completing a new submission he can be reached at 1-888-553-8558, or by e-mail at [email protected]