Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott wants the provincial government to review the financial assistance available to municipalities that suffered damages during the December ice storm.
Three municipalities among the seven lower tier municipalities in Wellington County applied for financial assistance in wake of the damage caused by the storm.
Under the province’s Ontario Disaster Relief Assistance Program (ODRAP), Erin is seeking up to $200,000 and Guelph-Eramosa is seeking $60,000.
Minto has also applied for damages through ODRAP, based on the “cumulative effect” of two ice storms in 2013 (April 12 and Dec. 22). The town was previously turned down for an ODRAP application following the April storm, but officials estimate the final damage total from the two storms could exceed $300,000.
“Local taxpayers should not be left on the hook to cover the entire cost of the Christmas ice storm cleanup,” Arnott said in a press release issued on Feb. 18.
In a telephone interview with the Advertiser from his Toronto office on Feb. 24, Arnott said, “The provincial government has a role to assist communities that were hit this way.”
Guelph-Eramosa Mayor and Wellington County Warden Chris White told the Advertiser earlier this month he is surprised more local municipalities did not apply for disaster relief.
Arnott said the province operates a $1-billion contingency fund it could draw on to assist municipalities with damage relief. The MPP said there is a precedent for provincial disaster relief.
“There is a recent precedent where the provincial government stepped up to the plate to assist local government in dealing with the aftermath of a weather related emergency,” Arnott said in his press release.
“After the Peterborough flooding in 2004, I recall the Liberals tripping over themselves to offer financial assistance to help with cleanup costs in that community.”
Arnott said the government should establish a select committee to review the province’s emergency preparedness protocols in order to seek better communication and quicker responses to future weather-related emergencies.
However, he commended municipal officials and hydro staff for their work in the aftermath of the December ice storm.
“We need to find ways to improve,” Arnott said of the idea for a select committee.
Throughout the Christmas ice storm and resulting hydro outage, Arnott was in regular contact with senior staff at Hydro One. He was also in touch with municipal officials.
He urged Hydro One to ensure that Wellington-Halton Hills received its fair share of the available crews and trucks. Even though the power at his home was out as well, he provided regular updates via Twitter.
Arnott said municipalities in his riding that are still considering applying for relief funds should contact him.
“I feel if any municipal council came to me, I’ll see what I could do,” he said.
