Minister of Emergency Preparedness Bill Blair said the urgency of getting funds to B.C. was made plain during a meeting with provincial officials, First Nations leaders and mayors
British Columbia has asked Ottawa for $4-billion in disaster relief in a preliminary submission based on the extensive costs related to flooding and debris slides during last November’s rain storms.
“I want to be very clear this is a preliminary ask from the province of British Columbia,” Mr. Blair told a news conference. “We see the urgency of moving money out into communities to facilitate that recovery. We’ve heard it clearly from First Nations, we’ve heard it very clearly from the mayors and regional councils right across the province [that] the costs exceed what they are able to bear and they seek our support.
The DFAA program is designed to assist provinces with the costs of dealing with a disaster where those costs would otherwise place a significant burden on the provincial economy. Ottawa’s share in similar circumstances – such as the 2013 Calgary floods – is typically less than half of the total price tag, making the November storms in B.C. likely to be Canada’s most costly natural disaster to date.
Mike Farnworth, B.C.’s Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor-General, told reporters following Monday’s meeting with Mr. Blair that his government is also looking at changes to the provincial disaster funding program.
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