As published in Orillia Matters on March 4, 2025
I remember reading an article in this paper when McLean & Dickey Insurance renovated their new building – the old A&P on King street – for energy efficiency.
Finally! A company willing to go first and be a role model! I’d always felt insurance would be the first industry to start the hard work on climate change. They put in double-glazed windows and spray foam insulation. Anyone staring nervously at an ice dam right now knows the value of good insulation.
Next, a high efficiency HVAC system, LED lighting and tankless water heaters to cut their carbon footprint. You’re excused by not getting all hot and bothered by HVAC, but no other industry is as drastically affected by climate change than property insurance. Danielle Tisi, one of the owners of McLean and Dickey, told me 2024 was the most expensive in Canadian history for weather-related events. One insurance company took 24, 000 claims in a day!
The insurance industry is reacting to our new weather. Yes, much has been policy change and additional and nuanced water coverages, but they’re also researching climate breakdown, advocating for change and funding solutions.
Tisi says while the general public is aware of climate change, we know it’s causing western wildfires, we don’t realize insurance is a global market. Wildfires across the continent and windstorms overseas, affect everyone’s rates.
It feels crass to discuss cost in context with the future of our planet, but few listen when I talk about the plight of Eastern Meadowlarks.
The insurance industry is going first. Aviva, a British multinational company, pledged four years ago to be a net zero carbon emissions company by 2040. They want their offices to be 100% renewable energy-powered. They have also taken the bold step to drop carbon-invested business clients. They’ve pledged to stop underwriting for companies making more than five percent revenue from coal, unless they signed up to the Science Based Targets Initiative.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada is advocating both for the federal government to end building on flood plains and for provincial and municipal governments to strengthen their land use planning rules.
Intact is Canada’s largest property insurance company. They started the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation, a research centre at the University of Waterloo. One of its key roles, besides flood and fire mitigation and encouraging home retrofits, is promoting the use of wetlands and forests to manage floodwaters and temperature. They advocate for wetland protection because allowing them to remain undisturbed is the cheapest way we can mitigate climate change. The more natural space in and around our cities, the better our land reacts to severe storms by re-absorbing flood waters.
Do you know you have a local organization that has been doing exactly this – protecting natural spaces – for the last 30 years?
I work for The Couchiching Conservancy and we help protect wetlands and forests, right here, where you live. Since taking this job last summer, aside from the hundreds of passionate and dedicated supporters we do have, I’ve come to realize that most people either
- Haven’t heard of The Couchiching Conservancy
- Have heard of us but only associate us with hiking trails or
- Think we play music
I have talked to many worried about climate change, and others who are not but who are losing sleep over snow on their roofs and water in their basements. These are in fact the same fear.
People feel overwhelmed and helpless. They don’t know how to create change or protect their homes.
The Couchiching Conservancy helps protect natural places. The more we retain, the better Orillia can handle severe storms.
We are one of the most effective land trusts in the province, with 58 local properties protected forever.
If you are worried about climate change, or your home in the next rain or wind storm, I urge you to become a member or make a donation to an organization that is our best chance at staying above water.
This is the 5th in a series of columns by Meg Whitton, formerly of Bounce Radio, now working in conservation at The Couchiching Conservancy. This column looks at how climate change is affecting our area and what we can do about it. If you have a story about how climate change has affected your business, please email Meg at [email protected]