A fierce storm called Daniel caused severe flooding in many Mediterranean countries. In Libya, the flooding triggered the collapse of two dams near the city of Derna on Sept. 10.
The city is located in a mountainous area on the Mediterranean coast. A large section of the city was literally washed into the sea. The death toll is estimated in the thousands, and is expected to rise.
As with other recent natural disasters, there is a human element that cannot be ignored. First, there is the reality of global climate change. Rising temperatures in oceans and the Mediterranean have fueled storms, making them more destructive. Second, Libya is a country divided by internal strife, and infrastructure has not been properly maintained.
Although not large by Canadian standards, the first dam could not handle the pressure of the flooding from the storm, causing a surge of water flowing downriver. The second dam burst when it hit, and the result has been likened to a tsunami. Aerial photos show a large portion of Derna has literally disappeared.
Could something similar happen here? Probably not. We use different building methods and materials, and our country is not torn apart by warfare, to the point critical infrastructure is ignored.
That said, most municipalities around here are plagued with something called an infrastructure deficit – work that needs to be done but will probably be delayed longer than it should be.
No municipality is in a position of being able to do all its infrastructure work in a timely manner, for a variety of reasons, the key one being lack of money.
Municipal councils are always walking a tightrope of trying to keep tax rate increases to a minimum, while providing necessary services and maintaining infrastructure.
Sometimes things get skewed by a council bent on keeping tax rates unrealistically low, leaving future councils to deal with an accumulation of expensive infrastructure work that simply cannot be put off any longer. Taxes go up and people squawk about spendthrift politicians – or taxes stay low and people squawk about incompetent leaders who failed to fix the tire-eating holes in the road.
Right now, many communities in this province are planning their 2024 budgets. Most have a long list of must-do, should-do and would-like-to-do infrastructure projects. It goes without saying the ones in the latter two categories will be postponed unless federal or provincial grant money is forthcoming.
Our municipalities have sewer systems designed decades ago for a kinder, gentler climate and a lot fewer subdivisions. They have roads and bridges designed and constructed at a time when most heavy freight in this province was transported by rail; the pounding roads take from today’s warehouses-on-wheels demands wider lanes and different construction techniques. And then there are the arenas, parks and municipal buildings that date back to a time when Wi-Fi and Zoom might have been dogs’ names, and the parents of kids who fell off playground equipment never sued.
One of the big problems with our municipalities is they are funded far differently from senior levels of government. The municipal system dates back to a time when wealth was measured in land and what it could produce.
A resident of ancient Egypt would undoubtedly be mystified by our HST, but would have little trouble understanding property taxes.
Federal governments have a number of ways of raising money, including personal and corporate income taxes, excise taxes, customs duties and admission to national parks. Municipalities have property taxes.
The City of Toronto is leading the charge to add some ways of raising funds to maintain its roads, overpasses, sewers and all the rest of its infrastructure. The present system is no longer adequate.
The tragedy caused by those two burst dams in Libya stands as a sad warning that infrastructure has to be maintained. There are other examples a lot closer to home – we know what they are.
Let this be a message of support for the local municipal staff working on the 2024 budget – a job of inestimable importance.
