‘We are feeling hurt right now’
Calgary residents urge governments to work together on storm relief plan
Saima Jamal says northeast Calgary residents are fed up with hearing the same tune for two months.
It’s the hold music that plays for hours every day when they call their insurance companies, looking for answers about assessing damage from the catastrophic June 13 hailstorm or how much of a payout they can expect for essential repairs to their homes and cars.
It’s been eight weeks since the storm dumped tennis-ball-sized hail across parts of Calgary, leaving $1.2 billion in insured damages in its wake. And community advocates like Jamal say there hasn’t been enough government support for people who are struggling to figure out how to repair shredded siding and smashed windows before winter arrives.
A group led by the Hailstorm Action Committee (HAC) community organization gathered in front of the Mcdougall Centre on Tuesday to call on the province for more help.
“Do you know how it feels to come out of your house and see a cheese grater of a home? How heartbroken it feels, how hard it is on your mental health?” Jamal said.
She said many people who live in the hardest-hit communities feel abandoned.
“As an anti-racist activist, I truly do believe that if this hadn’t happened in the northeast of Calgary, where the majority of people are immigrants and are of my skin colour, there would have been a different response.”
In June, Premier Jason Kenney announced his government would offer disaster funding for uninsurable losses to properties damaged by overland flooding caused by the June storm.
But the relief doesn’t cover hail, sewer backup or insurance deductibles, since coverage for those damages is “considered reasonably and readily available.”
Kenney was asked again about provincial support for victims of the hailstorm during a Tuesday funding announcement in Camrose. He said there are limits to what the province can do.
“Obviously, the province does not reimburse people for losses associated with insurable property damage. That would include typical housing insurance or car insurance,” he said. “The province has never done that and the province cannot become everybody’s insurance company.”
But he added if companies aren’t honouring their obligations to policy holders, “We will read the riot act to those insurance companies.
“They have a legal responsibility to pay out those policies — just as the province is there to help with respect to uninsurable property,” Kenney said.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada has said companies are dealing with 70,000 claims in relation to the June 13 storm, and it takes time to process claims from high-damage events. Victims who feel they are being taken advantage of can make a formal complaint through the General Insurance Ombudsman dispute resolution process, or call an insurance consultant via 1-844-2ASK-IBC.
Tuesday’s demonstration in Calgary comes after the HAC organized another protest on the steps of the legislature in Edmonton last month.
The group’s spokesman, Khalil Karbani, said that while the province’s disaster relief program offers help for people who suffered overland flood damage, hailstorm victims are in another category.
“It’s a shame that we have to come out, we have to protest to get simple things like help that we need done, when (elected officials) should be doing this for us,” he said. “We are feeling hurt right now.”
He wants to see the city, province and federal government work together with the community to come up with a plan for immediate relief, since families are also struggling with financial burdens related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the broader economic downturn.
In July, city council passed a motion from Coun. George Chahal calling for a series of actions to help communities in the hailstorm’s aftermath. They included asking Mayor Naheed Nenshi to write to the provincial and federal governments to advocate for relief that might include interest-free loans, tax credits and rebate programs.
A copy of the letter obtained by Postmedia shows Nenshi sent the letter to Kenney and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last Friday.
“The magnitude of the June 13 storm and the insurance industry’s limited capability to respond to the substantial influx of claims means that many families will not have their claim finalized until 2021, leaving their most valuable asset exposed to further damage as the months drag on,” Nenshi wrote.
He called for the provincial and federal governments to respond to “this truly unprecedented situation” by offering “extraordinary, direct financial assistance to individuals” to help them complete necessary repairs.
Speaking at Tuesday’s protest, Rayeed Morshed said he’s seen countless damaged homes firsthand through his work for a construction company. Many people have been suffering through Calgary’s recent hot weather with boarded-up windows, unable to open them for relief.
“Right now, the way that people are living, they can’t go on much longer. So that’s why we’re out here,” Morshed said.
Sofia Khalin came to Calgary from Bangladesh in 2015 and now lives with her son in Taradale.
Their home suffered severe damage in the storm, and she said they still haven’t heard how much of a payout they can expect.
“I don’t understand much of politics, but I do understand every month my son has been paying his insurance,” she said.
“I feel so sad. Your peace of mind is in your house.”