Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements (DFAA) announcement for Newfoundland and Labrador flooding (2006)

Remarks by the
Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety

St. John's, Newfoundland
July 8, 2008
As Delivered

Thank you very much Norm [Norman Doyle, Conservative Party Member of Parliament, St. John's East]. Ladies and gentlemen, it's great to be here. We were here yesterday as well and had a wonderful time doing some touring and meeting lots of great people.

One of the things about working in Public Safety Canada is that you get to work with some pretty incredible people in local areas: volunteers, first responders, individuals who are on the scene right away to help. They help people through times of disaster and are there to assist in the aftershock when residents see their homes flooded, in some cases washed away, and their businesses wiped out. I get to meet with individuals like yourselves at the Red Cross, and others who are there before, during and after these tragic and trying times.

We recently passed the Emergency Management Act, which is geared towards facilitating different levels of response between municipal, provincial and federal governments. As a federal government, we want to assist in every way we can. As you know, when a disaster strikes, it is up to the first responders and management teams at the local levels to provide immediate support. It's individuals like yourselves who know where the immediate needs are.

The first 72 hours of any disaster are critically important, and we encourage Canadians to have an emergency kit like the one before me in their homes, something that can assist you in those first 72 hours so that the first responders can get to the people who are injured or in immediate danger. The more individuals there are who can take care of themselves during the first 72 hours, the better able first responders will be to get to those deeply in need. Sometimes it's the Red Cross that's first on the scene. Sometimes it's the paramedics. Often it's our police forces; we're so pleased to see representatives from the RCMP here today. The more that can be done to assist those individuals to help others in a time of disaster the better. We need to keep that in mind and do everything we can to make their job as easy as possible in the first hours of any disaster.

This particular flood, in Baie Verte, took place over two years ago, and while we don't yet know what the final costs will total, we are taking action to help you recuperate costs now. The federal government has the Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements program and I can tell you that representatives like your Member of Parliament, Norman Doyle, are the first people I hear from when a disaster strikes. They want to know that we, as a federal government, are doing everything we can to minimize the impact of the disaster. Norm was very vigorous and very active on this front and made sure that we were doing everything we can to help.

The Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements follow certain guidelines. As the bills come in, this program covers the losses that people suffer from damages to homes and businesses. The process can take quite a while. Sometimes it takes a few years before the municipality has established the damages. It is the provincial government who is responsible for getting all the expense receipts to the federal government. We have a preset formula that lays out the percentage of the expenses that we can assist with in the aftermath of these disasters.

Sometimes it's quite evident that some funds are needed in a hurry. This is where Norm spoke out very strongly. He has made the case that there needed to be some advance dollars coming in to assist those that have been hit the hardest, and he's done that in a very effective way.

And so even though we, at the federal level, are still waiting on the important municipal and provincial work of tabulating the costs, I'm pleased to announce today that for the damages that were suffered by individuals in those terrible floods of two years ago in Baie Verte, we have issued funds of $600,000 as an advance payment to assist people who need those dollars immediately. We know that the final expenses will be in excess of that amount, so we are able to provide this interim payment.

Norm, I want to thank you for the work that you have done in making the case on behalf of your constituents to receive these funds to help you until the rest of the expense receipts come through.

It is very important for us to have safe communities where our residents have a sense of comfort knowing that the various levels of government are there to support them. We want to make sure that at all levels of government reach out to the people who are in the most need. I want to thank again the first responders, especially the Red Cross, the RCMP, the paramedics and all volunteers who are on the scene during these tragedies. We want to make sure that people get their lives back together and they can move on.

Thanks very much for everything you do to make this country a wonderful place; we're glad to be in partnership with you. Thanks so much for being here today.