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Alberta flood zone development was a mistake, former MLA says:
FormerAlberta MLA George Groeneveld who chaired the flood mitigation committee after the 2005 floods says new development SHOULD NOT have been
allowed to spring up in the flood zones.
FormerAlberta MLA George Groeneveld said in the article that the basis of the 2006 Provincial Flood Mitigation Report recommended:
A CESSATION OF THE SALE OF CROWN
LANDS IN KNOWN FLOOD RISK AREAS.
In a
private corporation the CEO and the Board of directors are responsible for management
and governance of the corporation and its stakeholders. In this case our local, provincial and federal
government and representatives act as management and govern us as citizens. In
some instances we elect our representatives and put our trust in them to
represent our best interest, we expect them to act honestly and in good faith, with the
best interests of their citizens/electorate in mind.
1) This is referred
to as the FIDUCIARY DUTY, and
is the first unethical ‘inaction’ by ‘the province’.
As
alleged in the article - http://news.ca.msn.com/canada/alberta-flood-zone-development-was-a-mistake-former-mla-says
-
"Selling
lands in flood risk areas is the opposite of flood mitigation," the report
stated. "The province loses its say in the use of these lands and any protective
measures would need to be taken through cumbersome mechanisms such as
legislation or regulations. "Undeveloped flood plains are the natural and
most effective form of flood mitigation, and this recommendation will protect
those areas." Sale of flood-prone Crown lands creates the potential
"for increased financial liability for the province in terms of Disaster
Recovery Program funding that must outweigh the short-tem financial benefits of
the sale," the report stated.
"Once
developers buy that land, it takes real political will from the municipal
governments to shut them down and say 'No, you can't do it.’
The
report refers to ‘the province’ – however, behind ‘the province’ are people –
people we elected to serve our best interest as citizens of Alberta and we put
our trust in our representatives.
2) This inaction to not notify the general populace/ citizens/
electorate about ‘The 2006 Provincial Flood Mitigation Report’ speaks to GOVERNMENTAL LACK OF SOCIALRESPONSIBILITY
In the average
private corporation not only do the board of directors have to make decisions
regarding risk management and strategic direction but they must also use ETHICAL, MORAL AND VALUES-RELATED
JUDGEMENT, therefore, ‘the province’ is expected to make decisions
regarding risk management and strategic direction but they must also use ETHICAL, MORAL AND VALUES-RELATED
JUDGEMENT. What is more compelling
is that the report also recommended that
disaster recovery payments for "new inappropriate development in flood
risk areas" be prohibited.
3) In a private
corporation the board has two primary responsibilities with respect to business
ethics. First, it must as a group identify the values that determine acceptable
behaviour of the corporation. The second responsibility is that, once identified
these ‘values’ must be put in place.
This process assures that the values are reflected in actions that are
taken within the corporation and also are attuned with prevailing social
ideology.
These steps ensure the
continuous examination of the decision-making process to be certain that the
consequences of potential decisions are measured against the values of the
corporation and are acceptable to society.
Does this mean that there was not one from ‘the province’ associated with
‘The
2006 Provincial Flood Mitigation Report’ whose ‘VALUES’ were strong enough to publish the report so that the
general populace were aware of the
potential danger of purchasing a home in these areas?
In the case of ‘the province’/ ‘The 2006
Provincial Flood Mitigation Report’ the recommendations were explicit:
“..The report recommended a
notification system be established that informs potential buyers that the
property is located in a flood-risk area. Groeneveld said he was disappointed
that the report WAS NEVER RELEASED during his time in government and THAT BY
THE TIME IT WAS RELEASED IT WAS "SO FAR AFTER THE FACT THAT A LOT OF THE
REPORT HAD BECOME REDUNDANT."
The
report also recommended the completion of flood risk maps for urban areas in
the province; a program to ensure those maps are updated; the identification of
priority rural flood risk areas that require flood risk mapping; and making
historic flood information available to the public on a website. This issue speaks
also to Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
Corporate Social Responsibility/Sustainability
is a business approach that builds long-term
shareholder value by embracing opportunities and managing risks deriving from ECONOMIC,ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENTS. Leaders in these companies achieve
long-term shareholder value by focusing their strategies and management to utilize
the potential of the market for sustainable products and services while simultaneously
SUCCESSFULLY REDUCING AND AVOIDING COSTSAND RISKS. ‘The Province’ and the people behind ‘The 2006 Provincial Flood Mitigation
Report’ did not!
We as citizens of Alberta will all, in the end,
pay for the unethical behaviour of ‘the Province’ and the people behind this '2006Provincial Flood Mitigation Report’.
