The essentials:
- Our Climate Readiness and Community Recovery team helps municipal and Indigenous communities recover faster following major climate disasters.
- Working groups, governance structures, schedules, communications processes and financial controls are key to operations following a climate disaster, however leading with empathy and compassion is paramount.
- Our expert James Heigh leverages his years of project management and emergency management experience to provide impacted communities with innovative, solutions-oriented support.
Here at Colliers Project Leaders, James Heigh directs our Climate Readiness and Community Recovery team, which helps communities across Canada proactively plan for disasters and manage in the aftermath of wildfires, floods and other climate disasters.
The team guides communities through every stage of recovery, blending strategic counsel with hands-on project management to assess damage, access funding and build a plan for long-term resilience. The Climate Readiness and Community Recovery service is a core component of Colliers’ broader strategy to help clients and communities manage an increasingly unpredictable climate landscape.
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James Heigh’s unique background, which combines 15 years as a first responder to emergencies with deep expertise delivering complex capital projects, provided the foundation for this innovative approach. Today, his role merges project management and emergency management specialties into a powerful, solutions-oriented service. “We’ve made a fundamental shift in recovery management by leveraging these two systems to help communities recover faster following a major disaster event,” James says. “It’s about combining emergency management with project delivery to help communities recover in a more structured, effective way.”
Executing the community recovery framework
James’ leadership has been critical in refining this model in communities across Canada, demonstrating its effectiveness in addressing complex, long-term recovery challenges.
Case study: Kátł’odeeche First Nation
This community on the shores of Great Slave Lake endured a series of devastating natural disasters. In 2022, the Hay River breached its banks after extreme rain, record-breaking snowpack and ice jams. The flooding damaged homes, displaced families and left a long trail of destruction.
Two major wildfires erupted the following year, the first tearing across 3,000 hectares of land, destroying homes, buildings and cultural facilities. The second wildfire later that summer forced a five-week community evacuation and raised fears about air quality, smoke damage and the safety of drinking water.
“Even after the fires were contained, significant debris, contaminated sites and damaged infrastructure continued to hinder the community’s path forward,” says James.
Kátł’odeeche First Nation engaged our Colliers Project Leaders team to help them develop a complex, multiyear recovery effort grounded in their cultural values. James and his team established working groups and put in place governance structures, schedules, communications processes and financial controls to bring order and clarity to the operations. His team led contractor procurement, environmental and technical work, debris removal and even the setup of interim housing.
“We worked closely with leadership, Elders and community members to understand what recovery needed to look like for them,” he says. “That’s how we help support community healing and lay the groundwork for long term resilience.”
Case study: Bigstone Cree Nation
Chipewyan Lake – one of three Bigstone Cree Nation communities – experienced serious wildfires in the spring of 2025, which caused widespread damage and displaced residents for months.
“Burnout, grief, fatigue and exhaustion are a common reality for those deeply involved,” James says. “We knew right away we had to lead with compassion and empathy in developing recovery plans.”
By leading the charge to secure federal assistance, the team helped the community become officially recognized under the Federal Emergency Management Assistance Program (EMAP), a significant precedent. It also took a trauma-informed approach, coordinating non-governmental organization (NGO) partners, faith organizations and government agencies to provide individualized support for Elders and vulnerable residents.
They also focused on one key group. “When children and youth are hurting, community is hurting,” James says. “So while stabilization efforts went on, we brought recreational activities back and helped them organize their annual holiday toy drive.”
Partnership in action
At the core of James’ leadership is a focus on collaboration and community-led decision-making. Locals are treated as partners to ensure that recovery efforts are both practical and culturally aligned.
“Building trust is the most important ingredient for residents to feel comfortable accessing recovery programming,” he adds.
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