Speech

Good morning. I’m pleased to be here today on behalf of our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, with good news for all Canadians.

There’s a quotation--usually attributed to Mark Twain--that comes to mind as I stand here today: “Everyone complains about the weather, but no one ever does anything about it.”

With all respect to Mark Twain, everyone at Environment Canada knows that’s entirely untrue: We do a great deal about the weather. And we have since the Meteorological Service began more than 140 years ago.

Deploying the science and expertise of the Meteorological Service, we monitor the weather and its shifts, detect changes in the atmosphere, track the development of severe conditions and immediately warn Canadian families when they... their homes, their businesses and their communities... are at risk.

In turn, whether they are farmers, emergency planners, outdoor enthusiasts, or the travelling public, Canadians take action everyday based on our weather information. And we’re receiving this information in new ways all the time, including smartphone applications.

Canadians also know that monitoring and sharing information about our physical environment is a public responsibility; a responsibility that this government takes seriously.

To ensure the safety of Canadians and their property, every year our Government’s Meteorological Service issues about 1.5 million public forecasts... 15,000 severe weather warnings... 500,000 aviation forecasts and 200,000 marine, ice and sea-state forecasts.

That level of activity requires a comprehensive, national weather, water and climate monitoring system.

This system includes a national doppler radar network, a lightning detection network, hundreds of surface weather and climate stations and dozens of upper air observing stations.

Furthermore, changes and variability in the climate, and their impact on the frequency and intensity of severe weather, means that we have to be even more vigilant about tracking those changes as well as the development of new weather patterns that could affect public safety.

We also made recent upgrades to seasonal forecast systems to improve prediction models for three, six, nine and twelve month seasonal outlooks... another example of using science to provide world-class services and protection to Canadians.

So today, I’m pleased to announce that our Government will invest an additional $78.7 million over the next five years to further enhance weather and warning services across the country. This is in addition to the $26.5 million investment I announced earlier this year, to improve our weather services in the Canadian Arctic.

This new investment will be focused on four key areas.

The Doppler weather radar network will receive $45.2 million for improved performance and to upgrade to next-generation technology. Doppler radar is the primary tool for real-time detection and prediction of impending severe weather like tornadoes, hail, snow squalls and heavy rain that is responsible for flash floods.

Another $18.8 million will go to improving 250 of the 1,300 surface weather and climate observation sites operated by Environment Canada.  These sites provide the data that’s used for severe weather forecasts and warnings... and that data also contributes to our national long-term record keeping.

The aerological network--which collects information about atmospheric wind and temperatures for weather forecasts and aircraft navigation--will get $4.2 million to convert to state-of-the-art GPS navigational equipment for the 22,000 weather balloons launched every year.

Finally, we are spending $10.5 million to improve the lightning detection network used to monitor lightning.  In Canada, lightning strikes cause as many as 10 deaths and 164 injuries, start forest fires and cause up to $1 billion a year in damage to power grids and property.

This $78.7-million expenditure on scientific improvement and technology upgrades reflects our Government’s commitment to predicting weather and protecting Canadians. 

We are preparing for today--and investing in tomorrow--using a 140-year legacy of excellence.

Thank you.