PM promises federal funds to help Fort McMurray rebuild
Fort McMurray residents can expect “significant” federal dollars to help them rebuild after the wildfire disaster last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday, but he would not say how much or when, only that his government “will have Albertans’ backs” over the long-term.
“There will be significant federal monies invested in that community as we rebuild, but we’re just beginning to understand the scale and the scope of the problem and establishing, in partnership, a path forward,” he said at a news conference following a visit to Fort McMurray to see the devastation first-hand.
“The federal government will have Albertans’ backs in the coming months and years. … Our government will do everything it can to get you back home safely, just as soon as that’s possible,” he said.
Trudeau said it will match individual donations made to the Canadian Red Cross, which has so far raised $86 million.
More than 90,000 residents had to evacuate their homes May 3 as the flames carved a destructive path through the city. Officials say more than 2,400 homes and other structures were destroyed– amounting to over 10 per cent of the city — and another 530 were damaged, but 25,000 were saved.
Trudeau described seeing the scarred and blackened boreal forests, the deserted and mostly unscathed downtown core, and communities scorched to the ground.
The prime minister met and thanked first responders, including Wood Buffalo fire Chief Darby Allen who led the fight. Allen presented Trudeau with a Fort McMurray fire jacket and said his visit would boost morale.
“We’ve been working hard for the last two or three days on this reentry plan (for residents). We’ve got a few challenges around that.”
Premier Rachel Notley, Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo Mayor Melissa Blake, and some federal cabinet ministers, who are part of a special committee that will co-ordinate aid and reconstruction efforts in the city, accompanied Trudeau.
Blake said it is critical for Trudeau to tour the burned neighbourhoods and see what is left behind.
“Once you see it, you know just how daunting the work will be, but how important it is to make it back to what it was before,” she said.
Trudeau announced that workers in the Edmonton region would now be eligible for extended employment insurance benefits, meaning that those who qualify can claim up to an additional 20 weeks of benefits.
The extension will be available for a year beginning July 3, and will also be available to anyone who started a claim on or after Jan. 4, 2015, and is still unemployed. The federal government has also started fast-tracking EI claims for displaced Fort McMurray residents.
“For many years, Fort McMurray contributed huge amounts to Canada’s well-being, to the growth of our economy. Now this community needs help, and I can guarantee you, Canada will be here for this community,” he said.
“Know that even though things may look difficult and uncertain, and, at times, perhaps almost hopeless, know that you are not alone. Canadians are standing with you, you can lean on us, and you can count on us.”
Notley has been pushing for Edmonton’s inclusion since the new benefits were announced in the federal budget in March.
“Today, in coming to Alberta to show your support to the people of Fort McMurray, and to extend EI benefits to Edmontonians and to the people who live in the surrounding communities, your government is making an important contribution to our province’s economic recovery,” she said at the news conference.
Firefighters have managed to stifle the growth of the wildfire, keeping it hovering at around 241,000 hectares. It is now 15 kilometres from the Saskatchewan border.
It jumped the Athabasca River west of Fort McMurray and there is now more activity in that area, said wildfire information officer Travis Fairweather.
“The weather is picking up, they’re expecting to see some increased fire activity again over the next few days,” Fairweather said. There are more than 500 firefighters, 34 helicopters, 14 air tankers and 93 pieces of heavy equipment still involved in the fight.
The province said due to cooler weather and reduced fire hazard in southern Alberta, the fire ban and off-highway vehicle restriction would no longer be in effect in portions of southern and southwestern Alberta.