Ontario scraps criticized disaster relief program

Hamiltonnews.com
Aug. 17, 2015
By Kevin Werner

The Ontario government is scrapping the Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program, and replacing it with two new programs that officials say will provide faster service for victims of extraordinary natural disasters.

Municipal Affairs Minister Ted McMeekin announced Aug. 17 at the Association of Ontario Municipalities the province will be creating the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program, which will assist municipalities during extraordinary emergency response and the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians targeting individuals, businesses and non-profit agencies due to a national disaster.

“We will be able to help people faster, municipalities will be able to focus on emergency response and re-building in a natural disaster,” said McMeekin.

McMeekin acknowledged the ODRAP had become “outdated” after the December 2013 ice storm that left about 35,000 people in Hamilton in the dark. The city, along with nine other municipalities applied for funding under ODRAP. The city asked for $6 million in compensation.

Hamilton was turned down for funding, but it applied for $4.1 million in damages in 2015 under the Ice Storm Disaster Relief. It finally received about $1.4 million to cover costs for the 2013 storm.

Hamilton twice in the past has been turned down for compensation funding from ODRAP for flooding problems.

During the entire application process to ODRAP, municipalities complained of the complex process just to fill out the necessary paperwork.

Under the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program, cities and towns will be given four months rather than two weeks to assess costs and request provincial assistance, said McMeekin.

“It will pay for eligible response costs and repairs to damaged properties and infrastructure,” said McMeekin. “It will give (municipalities) more time to assess damage after a disaster. It will have better and clear guidelines.”

McMeekin said the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians eliminates the need for matching funds. “It will be there when you need it,” he said.

He said both programs will “dramatically” reduce the time to process the applications and provide the needed funding.

But the minister stressed that both programs “are not a substitute for insurance.

“They will be more transparent and predictable for municipalities and faster and fairer for disaster victims,” he said.

McMeekin said the programs will be up and running in the new year.