Minden Hills mayor Bob Carter is hopeful the provincial government will give financial aid to the township in the wake of its declaration of a state of emergency March 31 due to the ice storm.
With internet and phones down, municipal officials had to drive to Dwight to officially fax their declaration to the Ontario government.
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MPP Laurie Scott toured the warming centre at the S.G. Nesbitt Memorial Arena April 3. Meanwhile, minister of emergency preparedness and response, Jill Dunlop, and Scott visited the warming centre April 6.
It is equipped with cots from the Red Cross, a mobile triage van courtesy of the County of Renfrew, and the centre is manned by municipal staff, with hot food, beverages, and showers, along with places to charge devices.
Carter was on hand for the tours, along with County of Haliburton CAO Gary Dyke, EMS chief Michael Slatter, OPP interim detachment commander Mike Cavanagh, and municipal staff and politicians.
Carter told The Highlander declaring a state of emergency was step one of a long process.
“You have to declare an emergency before you can be eligible for money, and there’s still lots of rules beyond that, and only certain things are eligible,” Carter said.
“They have to be consumables. If you buy a new antenna, you can’t charge that.”
He noted the declaration has brought back up to the township, including, most recently, NB Power from New Brunswick, and crews from Saskatchewan and northern Ontario. The County of Renfrew remains at the warming centre for EMS support. And the Red Cross still has 50 cots set up.
“You can only get that when you are in that emergency situation.”
The mayor said it also allows involvement in a system whereby the people in the community can work through insurance claims. “It’s a whole special process so people can file insurance claims online. So, making the declaration is really important.”
Carter said the loss of communication prompted the initial decision to declare a state of emergency.
On the day, Carter said he got a phone message from Premier Doug Ford acknowledging the township was in trouble and telling him to call if there was anything he could do.
Carter phoned the next day, but Ford was unavailable, prompting him to leave a text message. Because his phone was impacted, he couldn’t text. He was able to call the premier’s office. He said a staffer called Ford out of a meeting. Ford called him back immediately.
“I wasn’t quite expecting that,” the mayor said. “I told him the problem and he said he’d call the president of Bell right away.” Carter said Ford went back into his meeting but directed people, including Scott, and “Bell started dealing with us.”
He said Bell called Dyke at the County to assure him they were working 16 hours a day on Minden Hills’ connection problems.
What it means?
Emergency declarations can be made when the head of council, in consultation with the community’s senior staff (known as the community control group), determines that such action would be in the best interest of the municipality based on a perceived or apparent threat.
A state of emergency declaration would be considered if there was a situation or impending situation that: threatened public safety, public health, the environment, critical infrastructure, property, and/or economic stability, and exceeded the capacity of the community’s emergency response.
By declaring a state of emergency, the municipality is able to streamline its purchase and tender policies; extend Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) coverage to volunteers, and make claims for financial assistance for disaster recovery.
Declaring a state of emergency does not guarantee the municipality will receive financial assistance from the provincial or federal government for disaster relief. Municipalities must apply for financial assistance to the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance Program.
Residents who have experienced a loss in the aftermath of a natural disaster that causes costly, widespread damage to eligible private property may apply to the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians program.
