April 13th, 2017

Wynne government withholding disaster relief funds from Windsor flood victims: NDP MPP Hatfield

Percy Hatfield, MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh and the Ontario NDP’s critic for municipal affairs, challenged the Wynne government on the floor of the Ontario legislature today to explain when the rest of the flood disaster financial help will come for families that suffered flooded homes and damages during last fall’s flash flood.

“Last September, my riding of Windsor-Tecumseh had record rainfalls,” Hatfield reminded the Wynne government.  “In a short period of time storm sewers overflowed; thousands of homes were flooded.  110 millimeters of rain fell in 5 hours, 190 millimeters over 48 hours.  More than what we would normally get in two months.

“It’s been six months, yet only 36 people have received relief payments.  Twenty more have partial payments, but their file is still open.  When can the rest of the people of Windsor-Tecumseh who were affected by the flooding receive the relief they were promised?”

The deadline for claims was January 31st, 2017.  Since then, two thirds of those applying for disaster relief have been denied.  Hatfield posed the question after hearing from a woman in Windsor-Tecumseh just this morning who is still waiting for her phone calls to be returned to find out the status of her claim with the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program.

“Climate change is here – it’s a reality.  The Wynne government has to come to grips with that – and realize communities can’t cope with rainfalls of this magnitude.  When will this government update the disaster relief plan – so more home owners will be protected from storm events of this magnitude?”