Government looking at revamping disaster programs after record year of floods and fires

The insurance industry paid out $7 billion this year, more than 10 times the average of payouts in the early 2000s

OTTAWA — Emergency Preparedness Minister Harjit Sajjan says the federal government is looking at revamping its own disaster assistance programs and considering the creation of a national emergency management agency, following another year of costly disasters.

Sajjan spoke on Thursday at a Canadian Club of Ottawa luncheon. He said after a summer where wildfires destroyed a large part of Jasper, Alta., and burned as much land as the United Kingdom, the government knows things have to change.