B.C. flooding a 'wake-up call,' says Delta mayor

The flooding this week on B.C.'s South Coasthighlights the need to upgrade dikes and levees across the Lower Mainland and the Fraser Valley,says Delta MayorLois Jackson.

Jackson, who is also the chair ofthe Greater Vancouver Regional District, told CBC News that municipalities have been left to shoulder the financial burden for flood protection, and that it's time for the B.C. and federal governments to help.

"I think it has been a bit of a wake-up call. Mother Nature is very unforgiving and she's very powerful when she gets her head up, and I think we have to be more prepared."

Jackson said she wrote to Victoria and Ottawa last March asking for help with flood protection, but didn't get any commitments.

Finger pointing begins

In Victoria, the New Democrat environment criticShane Simpson is blaming the Campbell government for the municipalities' financial predicament. "The government walked away from meaningful flood protection," Simpson said.

But Solicitor General John Les said it was the NDP government that scrapped the Fraser River Flood Control Program back in1995.

"The previous government did not renew that with the federal government," said Les, a former mayor of Chilliwack.

The solicitor general says the province is already talking to Ottawa about launching a new flood-protection program, and that in the meantime, B.C.will compensate homeownersfor uninsured losses.

Jackson says that in the future, she'd rather see money spent on flood prevention than compensation.

"I'm hoping perhaps that we can sit down and work with all the communities alongthe river to see if there's collectively something that can be put together withall levels of government, something to ensure the safety of the people of this region and their assets."

Most of the people forced from their homes along the Chilliwack River were allowed to returnTuesday to begin cleanup efforts.