We need to help our neighbors to the north

Life stories are being rewritten in communities throughout southern Alberta. Unprecedented and catastrophic — these are a few of the adjectives used to describe the recent floods that changed the southern Alberta landscape.

The cost of cleanup will be in the billions of dollars, taking longer than anyone thinks possible. The Calgary Chamber of Commerce, citing U.S. statistics related to disasters, worries that when the bell starts to toll, it will toll for, at least 43 percent of small businesses.

Canadian insurance policies do not include provisions for overland flooding — water that appears at the door or window and comes in, uninvited. A relatively small percentage of Canadian policyholders live in areas prone to floods (until, perhaps, this recent bout in southern Alberta) and therefore, overland flood insurance has remained both unaffordable and unworkable.

Please consider Alberta in future travel plans. Alberta and North Idaho have a long-standing relationship based on goodwill, the very best kind of homeland security.

The Calgary Stampede Board expects that the “Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth” will go on as planned, beginning July 5. If quiet ways to spend your time are more appealing, Alberta destinations await you year-round.

The Canadian Red Cross accepts donations at www.redcross.ca.

JANE DEMARAY

Helena, Mont.