Council supports hail resilience program — but no funding for it
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The multi-pronged program was put forward earlier this month, in response to a notice of motion last year from Ward 5 Coun. Raj Dhaliwal, asking the city to consider reinstating the Resilient Rooftop Rebate Program that was discontinued in 2022.
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Dhaliwal's motion came after his northeast ward was pummeled by a series of supercell hailstorms last August. The hail damaged roughly 60,000 homes in Calgary and generated more than $3 billion in insurance claims, making it Canada's costliest weather event of 2024.
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Administration also proposed conducting a hail equity impact analysis to examine how hail damage has impacted socioeconomic inequity in certain vulnerable neighbourhoods.
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Nicole Newton, the city's natural environment and adaptation manager, told council the network would foster collaboration between governments and the different sectors that deal with hail, including the insurance, real estate and building industries.
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'(It's about) bringing those all together and having the right conversations around where does each responsibility start and stop and where does it overlap,' Newton said.
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'We would look to other municipalities and try to figure out other areas in North America and see what fits best with all the players at the table, and ensure we're taking the right strides in terms of advocacy, education initiatives and maybe different incentive programs.'
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The recommendations also included having Mayor Jyoti Gondek pen a letter to the provincial government to implement a provincial grant program to support low-income households with their hail damage-related costs. The letter would also advocate for changes to the Municipal Government Act, allowing for hail protection upgrades to be included in the city's Clean Energy Improvement Program.
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