The City of Sarnia was successful in receiving a grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to undertake the development of a municipal climate change adaptation plan.
FCM’s climate change staff grant provides up to $125,000 over a two-year period to implement initiatives that increase the municipality’s capacity to adapt to climate change.
Sarnia will use the funding to dedicate staff to undertake a climate change adaptation plan with the outcome of recommending changes to the City’s Strategic Plan, Official Plan, Zoning By-law, site plan approval processes, and infrastructure/asset management.
Additionally, FCM will support the project by offering workshops, training resources, peer support, and best practices to understand what climate change is in Canada, and how to plan for it at a city scale.
On February 19, 2019 the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, and Vicki-May Hamm, President of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) announced $6.5 million in funding to 59 small to mid-sized municipalities across Canada to help address staffing gaps and produce lasting improvements in their operations related to climate change.
The Climate change staff grants are offered through the Municipalities for Climate Innovation Program (MCIP) delivered by FCM and funded by the Government of Canada.