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Equity Lens to Disaster and Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project Design and Portfolio

Public Review

Online Review of the Publicly Available Specification (PAS ) on how to apply equity considerations to climate-resilient infrastructure.

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Deadline for submission of comments: November 25, 2024 at 5 p.m. EDT
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Matt Delorme Nov 21 2024 at 8:48AM on page 11

Editorial
There is no section on low income individuals. Is this intended to be incorporated on the intersection of economic disparity with the groups listed here? Similar question with people who don't have reliable housing - they are at major risk in major climate events.
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Kelly Nov 20 2024 at 12:53PM on page 27

Editorial
has this been sent to MECP for feedback? Infrastructure planning is normally governed by MECP with respect to risk and consultation. It may well be a worthwhile reach out.
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Kelly Nov 20 2024 at 12:24PM on page 23

Technical
this is good. it is quite generic but i am assuming it is that organizations can customize based on their own needs. and it is a free resource not requiring any form of login which is rare and appealing to many.
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:56AM on page 11

Is this accurate? Recent Atlantic Canada events have substantially impacted children (fatalities in flood events) and elderly / disabled people (extended power outages)
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:54AM on page 10

Editorial
This conflates infrastructure and individual sensitivity. Infrastructure sensitivity is measured by the long or short term decrease of functional performance, increased operations and maintenance activity / costs or long term loss of function. Individual sensitivity is as described and is related to loss of access to services from infrastructure failure. Infrastructure can be sensitive to failure without loss of service access with adequate risk mitigation.
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:49AM on page 9

Technical
a mitigation plan is only the reducing risk part.
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:46AM on page 9

Editorial
Portfolio, from a PIEVC perspective, is a collection of services and supporting assets, not projects, programs and related organizational services.
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:40AM on page 7

Editorial
add "that"
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:38AM on page 6

Editorial
Use IPCC definition for climate change
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Matt Delorme Nov 20 2024 at 8:34AM on page 4

Editorial
To add to to Gerald's comment, the disaster component is recognized as "disasters resulting from insufficient planning for natural hazards"
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 7:50PM on page 26

Editorial
This document is amazing:
link

Can its suggestions be worked into this document?
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Charles Curry (PCIC) Nov 19 2024 at 7:46PM on page 25

Technical
In 7.1.1.1, reference is made to "infrastructure maintenance data and tools." That there are also accessible tools available for climate data projections could be mentioned here, instead of just saying "climate trends data" (trends are not the only important info for assessing climate change impacts). For example, the online tools available through PCIC and ClimateData.ca come to mind.
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Charles Curry (PCIC) Nov 19 2024 at 7:37PM on page 25

Technical
The term "forecasting" isn't really appropriate for future climate projections, which come with higher uncertainty than short-term weather forecasts. The timing of modelled climate change, e.g., is intrinsically much more uncertain, even if can express some confidence in the magnitude and direction of change.
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:59PM on page 21

Editorial
All related municipal staff and Council members need training and education on an equity lens in the context of climate, for this to be possible.
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:58PM on page 21

Editorial
I think municipal Councils moreso approve budgets, not allocate them?
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:55PM on page 20

Editorial
change to "equity vs dominant groups"

because sometimes those marginalized depending on the location can be the numerical majority
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:54PM on page 16

Editorial
It seems like this section perhaps goes beyond only an equity lens to also discuss an inclusion lens, and a reconciliation lens, etc.
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:53PM on page 16

Editorial
Could "Increased Social Justice" be a section? Sometimes it is necessary to use legal requirements and financial savings, but at the end of the day governments should serve the people and saving lives and preventing suffering should be government's moral obligation, to achieve increased social justice - in other words, it is the right thing to do.
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:50PM on page 17

Editorial
This is confusing because we were talking about equity but the paragraph starts out talking about inclusive infrastructure. I think the point needs to be consistent to be more clear. Also, I think there could be more said about how an equity-based approach to retrofits can be applied - or at least more meaningful examples. At the municipal level, we are asked by funders to go beyond engagement with marginalized communities and consider empowerment approaches, for example. It could also include spending more funds on the areas where the most marginalized communities live/depend upon, etc...
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:45PM on page 16

Editorial
Also, there are some laws/documents that result in the provincial government's duty to consult. Also relevant is the municipal context - the province's duty to consult can sometimes apply to municipalities - for example, when we have a provincially funded grant, or when there is an Indigenous burial site within the municipality. Also, provincial papers often guide/require municipalities to consult on their secondary and official planning processes - which have environmental impacts.
replies

Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:39PM on page 16

Editorial
and according to UNDRIP
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 6:38PM on page 16

Editorial
Perhaps beyond the scope of this document, but you might consider including mention of targeted individualism: link

Because the way that dominant groups are having to grapple with climate disaster is also bad and needs improvement - so a targeted universalism approach would mean better for everyone, but still with additional supports for the marginalized
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Catherine Nov 19 2024 at 5:12PM on page 15

Editorial
"The homeless" (or really any "the [adjective") is not a good way to refer to people.
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Catherine Nov 19 2024 at 4:42PM on page 8

Editorial
Infrastructure is defined here as "physical and organizational structures," but the four types listed are all physical - land, buildings, water, energy.
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Catherine Nov 19 2024 at 4:40PM on page 11

Editorial
The phrase starting with "For example, by putting a higher financial burden..." is a fragment, not a complete sentence. Additionally, the logical connection between it and the sentence prior is not clearly expressed.

In addition to correcting the sentence fragment, I suggest simplifying the language a bit and making the connection between exclusion and unforeseen negative impacts more overt.
replies

Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 4:09PM on page 14

Editorial
preferred language is people experiencing houselessness
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 4:08PM on page 13

Editorial
In the context of environmental racism in Nova Scotia, Africville is an important example
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 4:05PM on page 13

Editorial
There was also an interesting study about how people on mental health related medications are more likely to have heart attacks when it is hot out, and so global warming disproportionately impacts them
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 4:03PM on page 13

Editorial
Note that not only women can be pregnant - so can non-binary people and trans men.
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Catherine Nov 19 2024 at 3:54PM on page 6

Editorial
I think "among" is better than "between" here, since we're talking about a many-to-many relationship (many people, many elements of diversity).
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:47PM on page 12

Editorial
colonialism is an overarching system, which residentials schools are a part of
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:46PM on page 12

Editorial
can you include Two-Spirit and minoritized genders here? (not just women and children)
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:44PM on page 12

Editorial
add an "A" at the end of the acronym to include asexual people.
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:43PM on page 12

Editorial
add Black people, because anti-Black racism is a unique form of oppression that should be reflected here
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:40PM on page 11

Editorial
add "Black"
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:38PM on page 10

Editorial
"Theories of vulnerability have constituted the conceptual core of the anthropology of disaster for roughly 40 years. Yet, there is an undercurrent of disquiet among disaster scholars and community leaders who worry that vernacular uses of vulnerability can be insulting to individuals and communities with whom we work, and/or with whom we identify. There is a growing discomfort that categorizing the “vulnerable” acts to discursively nullify the everywhere-visible “resilience,” toughness, and genius that exist in communities that are habitually exposed to risk and hazards. We argue that constructing vulnerability as a characteristic of subaltern peoples and marginalized places is truncated at best and can perpetuate violence—epistemic, semiotic, and material—at worst. To identify the “vulnerable” is, we contend, necessarily a process of otherizing and essentializing. We see and are concerned to further encourage an emergent form of disaster anthropology that is particularly oriented toward understanding and theorizing the institutions, systems, and individuals that structure risk, and in the process to focus attention away from “the vulnerable.”...we recognize vulnerability conceived not merely as historical inequity that produces negative outcomes, but as nested and contested sites of struggle for different visions of utopian futures, for contrasting articulations of what constitutes risk, and for diverse cultural logics of the good."
Source: link
replies

Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:32PM on page 6

Editorial
Consider using the acronym "IDEA" instead which is often preferred by those leading accessibility work
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:30PM on page 4

Editorial
Indigenous Peoples do not identify as equity-deserving - they are seeking sovereignty.
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Shannon Nov 19 2024 at 3:29PM on page 4

Editorial
I use the language "climate catastrophe" or "climate emergency" to denote that we have passed the point of mere change This is in line with wise practices in inclusive language
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Vanessa Sinclair Nov 19 2024 at 10:52AM on page 13

Technical
Persons with disabilities living with chronic medical conditions may also be more vulnerable to hazards such as extreme heat and the spread of diseases.
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Vanessa Sinclair Nov 19 2024 at 10:47AM on page 9

Editorial
Would it be better to cite Crenshaw's original work for the definition of intersectionality?
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Vanessa Sinclair Nov 19 2024 at 10:43AM on page 6

Technical
Might this also include psychological and/or emotional capabilities, such as resilience or other individual differences in adaptability?
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Mike Benson Nov 19 2024 at 7:51AM on page 25

A key aspect of infrastructure management that is loosely referenced is to understand the current levels of service being delivered to the community. From an EDIA-perspective, it is valuable to also understand how equitably this service is being delivered. Infrastructure lifespan and performance is, in my view, a separate but closely related question that should be answered. Having a separate question that focuses on levels of service and understanding how equitably they are being delivered would be valuable.
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Mike Benson Nov 19 2024 at 7:47AM on page 25

Maintenance data is also relevant to non-building infrastructure such as roads, watermains, sanitary sewers, etc.
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Mike Benson Nov 19 2024 at 7:45AM on page 25

Is the definition of a portfolio only a list of identified projects, or is the intent to also include the entire infrastructure portfolio?
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Mike Benson Nov 18 2024 at 3:36PM on page 43

Editorial
Several references are listed multiple times.
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Mike Benson Nov 18 2024 at 3:20PM on page 20

Editorial
Opportunity to highlight how equity-focused investments can make meaningful impacts and addressing inequities. Example: Federal government's commitment to eliminate boil water advisories on reserves has resulted in significant percentage (83%) of advisories being lifted.
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Mike Benson Nov 18 2024 at 3:15PM on page 16

Editorial
This section focuses on the benefits of climate adaptation in general, but does not speak to the specific benefits of using an equity-lens.
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Mike Benson Nov 18 2024 at 3:03PM on page 11

Editorial
Low-income households are an important group who face significant challenges building resilience against climate change
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Mike Benson Nov 18 2024 at 2:58PM on page 11

Technical
Source cited does not strongly support the claim that environmental racism mainly affects Indigenous and racialized individuals.
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